Lupercalia Setting information

[Gothic]

Lupercalia Setting Information.

 

It will start with the Luperci finishing up the sacrifice, then the feast, and running through the streets of Rome. 

There will be a main thread that people are permitted to participate with the youths running. Everyone is welcome to participate. 

There are also off-shoot threads. These occur for characters who are present but it keeps things flowing in the main thread. Please make sure to make it clear if it is set before, during or after the event. 

All threads for this event will take place in the event forum made for it. 

 

What is the Lupercalia? 

Lupercalia, ancient Roman festival that was conducted annually on February 15 under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure, although the likely derivation of its name from lupus (Latin: “wolf”) has variously suggested connection with an ancient deity who protected herds from wolves and with the legendary she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus. As a fertility rite, the festival is also associated with the god Faunus.

Each Lupercalia began with the sacrifice by the Luperci of goats and a dog, after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife, and the blood was wiped off with wool dipped in milk; the ritual required that the two young men laugh. The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the sacrificial animals and ran in two bands around the Palatine hill, striking with the thongs at any woman who came near them. A blow from the thong was supposed to render a woman fertile. 

Taken from; Encyclopedia Britannica. 

Other pages with information are;

• Wiki article (yes, it is wiki. It still has some good points.)
• History.com article.
• Thoughtco.com article.
• Thayer's article.