Who is lupercus

Isodorus, viii, 11, ff. Justinus, xliii, 1, 4. The History of Rome i, 5. Servius on Virgil's Aeneid vi, Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.

Some rights reserved. The festival began at Lupercal cave with the sacrifice of one or more male goats—a representation of sexuality—and a dog. The sacrifices were performed by Luperci, a group of Roman priests. The blood was then removed with a piece of milk-soaked wool as the Luperci laughed. In Ancient Rome , feasting began after the ritual sacrifice. When the feast of Lupercal was over, the Luperci cut strips, also called thongs or februa, of goat hide from the newly-sacrificed goats.

They then ran naked or nearly-naked around Palantine whipping any woman within striking distance with the thongs. Many fell in love and married. Over time, nakedness during Lupercalia lost popularity.

The festival became more chaste, if still undignified, and women were whipped on their hands by fully-clothed men. There are several legends surrounding the life of Saint Valentine. The most common is that on one February 14 during the 3rd century A.

Claudius became enraged and ordered Valentine to reject his faith or be killed. He refused to forsake his faith, so Valentine was beheaded.

Some historians believe more than one man named Valentine was executed by Claudius II. Despite the ambiguity surrounding Valentine and his life, the Catholic Church declared him a saint and listed him in Roman Martyrology as being martyred on February In the late 5th century A. Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India. Catholic Online. National Public Radio. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. What is known about Lupercalia is that it started with an act of sacrifice. Priests of the god Lupercus, called the Luperci, would take off their clothes and slaughter goats in the Lupercal , the cave that Roman legend held to have been the location where city founders Romulus and Remus were nursed by a wolf. Nor is there conclusive evidence that the date of Lupercalia influenced Pope Gelasius I when, in the 5th century, he made February 14 into a day that would honor the Christian martyr Saint Valentine.

The earliest historical record of the Lupercalia was from the 3rd century BCE, while the last record was from the end of the 5th century CE — around the same time Pope Gelasius I created a day for Saint Valentine. Long gone are the days of goat sacrifices — and those mid-February days are no longer anything special when it comes to fertility.