Who's Afraid of Lupercalia?

If you were to go back in time to 15 February in Ancient Rome, you
might see marauding packs of naked men surging through the streets.
If you were particularly unlucky one of them might whip you with a
piece of goat skin. This was the Roman festival of Lupercalia. In
this episode, Mary and Charlotte ask: what on earth was all this
about? What did Lupercalia mean to the Romans? And what was the
real purpose of any festival to the Romans?  Despite its
mind-boggling oddness, Lupercalia is better documented than many
other Roman festivals. This is partly because the Romans themselves
didn’t know really what it was about. Lupercalia was something that
seemed to have always been celebrated, but opinions varied - then
as now - as to what it meant. The wolfiness of lupercalia, and the
suggestion the ritual began in the cave where Romulus and Remus
were believed to have been suckled, implies it may have been a way
for the Romans to connect with their murky origins - an example of
the city performing its own past. But even this is contested. 
One thing is clear: despite the date, Lupercalia had nothing to do
with modern Valentine’s Day - unless, of course, your idea of
romance is running naked through the streets flailing a piece of
animal skin… @instaclassicpod for Insta, TikTok and YouTube
@insta_classics for X email: instantclassicspod@gmail.com Mary and
Charlotte recommend some further reading: The Lupercalia is one of
Roman religious festivals discussed in Mary’s book, with John North
and Simon Price, Religions of Rome (Cambridge UP pb, 1998) volume 2
(with translation of the main ancient texts, including a section of
Pope Gelasius’ pamphlet). Mary also discusses how to understand
Roman festivals more widely in her chapter in C. Ando (ed.), Roman
Religion, Edinburgh Readings in the Ancient World  (Edinburgh
UP, pb, 2003). Shakespeare’s Lupercalia is in his Julius Caesar Act
1, scene 2 Instant Classics handmade by Vespucci Producer: Jonty
Claypole  Video Editor: Jak Ford Theme music: Casey Gibson
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