Festivals

[Ursus]

Republican era State festivals

 

 

These were festivals where religious officials employed by the State conducted public rites. Citizens were required to suspend business on such dates, but they were not required to attend religious ceremonies (many did so, however, as sacrificial meat was often given in such festivals). Because the ancient Romans did not observe a "weekend" as moderns do, these festivals would have constituted the days of rest for the populace.

 

By the late Republic, many of the ancient festivals listed below had fallen into disuse, with the meaning of the festival and/or the deitiy to whom it was dedicated obscured.

 

 

 

January

 

1. Festival of Janus, the two faced god of beginnings. Exchanging of lamps to furnish light for the coming year

 

3-5. Compitalia. Observance day could be moved by order of the praetor urbanis. Celebrated the lares, or local guardian spirits, of the crossroads. Shrines were set up where crossroads met. Marked the end of the agricultural year.

 

5. Birthday of the shrine of Vica Pota, ancient goddess of victory.

 

9. Agonalia. Sacrifice of ram by rex sacrorum to uncertain god, possibly Janus.

 

11. Juturnalia. Festival of Juturna, river nymph and goddess of healing.

 

15. Carmentalia. Festival to honor Carementis, river nymph and goddess of prophecy.

 

24-26. Sementivae. Offerings to Tellus and Cerus (agricultural goddesses) to protect the spring sowing.

 

27. Festival of Castor and Pollux, Greek demigods who were patrons of cavalry, athletes and sailors

 

 

 

February

 

1. Festival of Juno Sospita

 

5-17. Fornacalia. Celebration of grain ovens.

 

13. Festival to honor Faunus the rustic god.

 

13-21. Parentalia. Private and public ceremonies for the spirits of the familial dead. The 21st was the Feralia, when food was carried to tombs of the dead.

 

15. Lupercalia. Purification and fertility festival. Romans not certain to which god holiday was dedicated. Citizens gathered before the cave where Romulus and Remus were suckled by the she-wolf. A goat and dog was sacrificed. Two noble youths were smeared with the blood and ran through the streets. They whipped passers-by with strips of goat skin, imparting fertility.

 

17. Quirinalia. Festival of the ancient god Quirinius, a sabine war god.

 

22. Carista. Renewal of family ties, offerings to familial lares.

 

23. Terminalia. Honoring the boundary god Terminus.

 

25. Regifugium. Celebrated in honor of expulsion of the last king and founding of the Republic.

 

27. Equirria. Horse racing in honor of Mars.

 

 

 

March

 

1. Festival of Mars

 

7. Festival of Vediovis, an underworld version of Jupiter.

 

9. Sacred shield of Mars carried by his priests, the salii.

 

14: Equirria. Another horse racing festival to Mars. Also the Mamuralia, which was a seperate festival in honor of the sacred shields of Mars.

 

15. Festival to Anna Perenna, goddess of the new year.

 

17. Liberalia, festival to Liber Pater, a god sometimes identified with the Greek Bacchus

 

19. Quinquatra. Five day festival in honor of Mars and Minerva. On 23 March the trumpets of Mars were purified.

 

31. Festival of Luna, goddess of the moon.

 

 

April

 

1. Veneralia,festival of Venus Verticordia

 

4-10. Megalesia. Games held in honor of Cybele, the Phyrgian mother earth goddess whose cult was brought to Rome during the 2nd Punic War.

 

5. Festival of Fortuna Publica, "luck of the people."

 

12-19. Ceriala. In honor of Ceres.

 

13. Festival to Jupiter of Victory and Jupiter of Liberty.

 

15. Fordicida. Pregnant cow sacrificed to Tellus to promote fertility.

 

21. Parilia. Purification of sheep for fertility.

 

23. Vinalia Priora. Festival of wine production in honor of Jupiter

 

25. Robigalia. Rust colored dog sacrificed to appease the god of grain rust.

 

28 April - 3 May. Floralia. Flower festival connected with Spring fertility.

 

 

May

 

1. Festival of Lares.

 

9. Lemuria. Festival to appease the spirits of the wandering household dead.

 

11. Sacrifice to Mania, a goddess of death.

 

14. Festival to Mars Invictus.

 

15. Festival to Jupiter and Mercury.

 

21. Agonalia. Sacrifice of ram by rex sacrorum to uncertain god, possibly Janus.

 

23. Festival to Vulcan.

 

25. Festival to Fortuna.

 

29. Ambarvalia. Sacrifices offered to agricultural deities to purify crops.

 

 

June

 

1. Festival of Juno and Mars

 

3. Festival of Bellona, the war goddess.

 

4, Festival of Hercules.

 

5. Festival of Dius Fidius, Roman god of oaths sometimes identified with Jupiter.

 

8. Festival of Mens, personification of mental activity.

 

9. Vestalia, festival of Vesta.

 

11. Matralia. Festival of Mater Matuta, goddess of growth and childbirth.

 

13. Festival of Jupiter Invictus.

 

19. Festival of Minerva.

 

20. Festival of Summanus, a god of thunderbolts associated with Jupiter.

 

24. Festival of Fors Fortuna, bringer of providence.

 

25. Turian games held every four years to underworld gods.

 

27. Festival to lares and Jupiter.

 

 

July

 

1. Festival of Juno.

 

5. Poplifugia. Flight of the People. Meaning now lost.

 

6-13. Games to honor Apollo

 

7. Festival of Pales. Juno worshipped on this day in honor of serving women.

 

17. Festivals of Honos (honor), Virtus (physical and moral excellence) and Victoria (victory)

 

19. Lucaria. Festival in a sacred grovde near the Tiber. Meaning lost.

 

20. Games held to honor victories of Caesar and goddess Victoria.

 

22. Festival of Concordia, goddess of concord.

 

23. Neptunalia. Festival for Neptune

 

25. Festival for Furrina, goddess of springs.

 

30. Festival to Fortuna

 

 

August

 

1. Festivals of Spes (Hope) and Victoria.

 

5. festivals of Salus, goddess of health

 

9. Festival of Sol, god of the sun.

 

12. Festival to Hercules and Venus

 

13. Festivals to Diana, Hercules, Castor and Pollux.

 

17. Portunalia. Festival to Portunus, god of doors and harbors. Involved a ritual connected with keys.

 

19. Vinalia Rustica. Another wine production festival

 

21. Festival to Consus , an agricultural god also associated with horses.

 

23. Festival to Vulcan

 

24. Festival to Luna

 

25. Festival to Ops, goddess of abundance and partner to Saturn.

 

27. Festival of Volturnus, an Etruscan river god.

 

28. Festival of Sol and Luna

 

 

September

 

1. Festival to Jupiter and Juno

 

5. Festival to Jupiter

 

5-19. Games for Jupiter Optimus Maximus.

 

13. Festival of Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva)

 

23. Festival to Apollo

 

26. Festival of Venus Genetrix, Venus as mother of Roman people

 

 

October

 

1. Festival to Fides (fidelity) and Juno

 

4. Fast day for Ceres

 

7. Festival of Jupiter and Juno

 

9. Festival to the public genius, Faunus and Venus.

 

10. Festival to Juno

 

11. Meditrinalia. Another wine festival to Jupiter

 

13. Fontinalia. In honor the god of springs

 

14. Festival of the Penates, domestic patron gods

 

15. Capitoline games in honor of Jupiter

 

19. Armilustrium. Festival of purification of arms in honor of Mars.

 

26 October -1 November. Sulla's Victory Games in honor of Victoria.

 

 

 

November

 

4-17. Plebian games in honor of Jupiter. The 13th was the great festival day and highpoint of the games

 

 

 

December

 

1. Festivals of Neptune and Pietas (Piety).

 

3. Festival of Bona Dea, the women's goddess. Celebrated only by women and Vestal Virgins in the house of a Consul or Praetor

 

5. Festival of Faunus held in countryside.

 

8. Festival of Tiberinius, personification of Tiber river.

 

11. Agonalia. Sacrifice of ram by rex sacrorum to uncertain god, possibly Janus.

 

12. Festival of Consus

 

13. Festival of Tellus.

 

15. 2nd festival to Consus.

 

17-23. Saturnalia. Merry making festival ot Saturn, the rustic god of seed sowing, later identified with the Greek Chronus. Sacrifice at the temple of Saturn followed by public feast and gift giving. Public gambling allowed. Holiday costumes and caps adorned. Candles lit. Slaves were temporarily absolved of duties. Master may have switched roles with slaves.

 

18. Festival of Epona, a Gallic horse goddess.

 

19. Festival to Ops

 

21. Festival to honor Diva Angeronae, goddess of secrecy.

 

22. Festival of the Lares

 

23. Larentalia, A funeral festival to an obscure goddess by name of Acca Larentia.

 

25. Midwinter solstice. Became prominent only in the third century when Aurelian consecrated his temple to Sol Invictus on this date.

 

 

 

Sources.

 

Adkins and Adkins. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. London, England, 1994.

 

Adkins and Adkins. Dictionary of Roman Religion. Oxford University Press. London, England, 1996.

[Primus Pilus]

Excellent list Ursus... this needs to be added to the history section of the site.

[Ursus]

Cool. Let me beef it up a bit and cite sources.

[Primus Pilus]

Cool. Let me beef it up a bit and cite sources.

 

Sure thing...

[Ursus]

I added some detail as well as sources.

[Nephele]

Great resource, Ursus! Did you also want to include the Mamuralia and the Portunalia in your listing?

 

"Under the month of March the rustic calendars record 'a sacred rite in honour of Mamurius' (Sacrum Mamurio), and under March 14 the calendar of Philocalus records the Mamuralia, that is, the festival of Mamurius." On this day "Mamurius Veturius" ("the Old Mars") was represented by a man wrapped up in goatskins who was driven out of Rome, symbolizing the "getting rid of the withered vegetation of the old year; for Mars...was originally a deity of vegetation as well as of war." (ref. James G. Frazer in the appendix to his translation of Ovid, Fasti.)

 

"A festival called the Portunalia was held in [the god Portunus'] honour on the seventeenth of August; it is mentioned in many ancient calendars, of which three (the Amiternine, the Valensian, and the Allifanine) add a note explaining that the Portunalia was a festival celebrated in honour of Portunus at the Aemilian bridge." (ref. Frazer.)

 

-- Nephele

[Ursus]

Hmmm, I'll cross reference other sources for those two festivals. Are we sure of the validity of Frazer's scholarship, I hear he could be off on a few things.

[Nephele]

Hmmm, I'll cross reference other sources for those two festivals. Are we sure of the validity of Frazer's scholarship, I hear he could be off on a few things.

 

Hope this helps...

 

Smith gives references for the Portunalia (see first paragraph of scanned page at this link).

 

Seyffert references the Mamuralia (see the entry "Ancile" on the scanned page at this link).

 

In addition, Smith includes an entry for a festival called the Larentalia, celebrated on December 10th in honor of Acca Larentia. Ovid, too, in his Fasti (Book III, lines 57-58) mentions the Larentalia: "Your honour will find its place when I come to tell of the Larentalia; that festival falls in December, the month dear to the mirthful spirits." (translation by Frazer).

 

-- Nephele

[Ursus]

Ok. According to Adkins and Adkins, Larentalia was held on Dec 23rd, being the funerary rites to the aformentioned obscure god in my rough draft. So I included Larentalia, but placed it on the 23rd.

 

Adkins always has a very brief mention on Portunalia, so I did it include it on the referenced date.

 

As far as Mamuralia .... The Adkins don't mention the goatskins festivals. They think it's another name for the horse racing festival, or possibly to honor the sacred shields. Since that additional article you referenced mentions the sacred shields, we will go with that. Frazer's interpretations of ancient religions can be a bit off, so I really don't trust his views.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Nephele]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Thank you, not just for this list, but also for the Adkins books references. I don't believe I have them in my library, but I'll be adding them today!

 

EDIT: Just noticed that you have "23. Larentalia, A funeral festival to an obscure god by name of Acca Larentia."

 

I think you might want to change "obscure god" to "obscure goddess."

 

In Bell's Women of Classical Mythology Acca Larentia or Laurentia is described as: "a rather obscure Roman goddess sometimes identified with Luperca, the wife of Lupercus, who in the shape of a she-wolf nursed Romulus and Remus. She was the wife of Faustulus, the royal shepherd of Amulius who found Romulus and Remus as they were being nursed by the wolf and carried them to his wife to be brought up... The day sacred to her also followed the one sacred to the Lares."

 

-- Nephele

[Ursus]

Oops. Corrected the gender of said deity. Don't know how I missed that. I think I'm working too hard this holiday season.

[Ursus]

Thank you, not just for this list, but also for the Adkins books references. I don't believe I have them in my library, but I'll be adding them today!

 

 

I reviewed the Adkins book here: http://www.unrv.com/book-review/handbook-ancient-rome.php

 

They also have a companion volume on Ancient Greece.

[Nephele]

Thank you, not just for this list, but also for the Adkins books references. I don't believe I have them in my library, but I'll be adding them today!

 

 

I reviewed the Adkins book here: http://www.unrv.com/book-review/handbook-ancient-rome.php

 

They also have a companion volume on Ancient Greece.

 

Just now ordered the book on Ancient Greece, as well. I see you've also included the Adkins books in a couple of your Quintus Libri lists. Great recommendations.

 

-- Nephele

[CiceroD]

How many of these were traditional?

 

I mean it is established that public festivals and games multiplied as great men provided panem et circensis to quiet the mob.

So how many of these were in place during the Republic?

[Ursus]

The festivals listed above are from the Republican era calendar. All these were official holidays. Some of them had fallen into disuse because they were so old people had forgotten their meaning in contemporary society. Obviously the games established by Caesar and Sulla were recent additions in the late Republic.

 

By the time of Aurelian there were 137 official holidays, meaning that not only did many on the list above survive into late imperial times, but new ones were added as well.