BEGIN:VCALENDAR BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=1 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060111 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060112 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:aB3BjrCYgzOKxJTsFUNJLSYMhYhH CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Carmentalia was the feast day (11 January and 15 January) of the Roman goddess Carmenta\, an ancient oracle who later was deified by the Romans. She had her temple atop Capitoline Hill. Carmenta was invoked in it as Postvorta and Antevorta\, epithets which had reference to her power of looking back into the past and forward into the future. The festival was chiefly observed by women. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Carmentalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1093 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=1 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060115 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060116 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:I93vxftSl3kMxuxdKhStThxfuxCq CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Carmentalia was the feast day (11 January and 15 January) of the Roman goddess Carmenta\, an ancient oracle who later was deified by the Romans. She had her temple atop Capitoline Hill. Carmenta was invoked in it as Postvorta and Antevorta\, epithets which had reference to her power of looking back into the past and forward into the future. The festival was chiefly observed by women. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Carmentalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1094 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=1 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060124 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060125 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:qs76I42QxVI8SBFAzDcoqua62GCH CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Sementivae\, also known as Feriae Sementivae\, is a Roman festival of sowing. It is held in honor of Ceres (the goddess of agriculture) and Tellus (Mother Earth). The initial half of the event is a festival in honor of Tellus which runs from January 24 through January 26. The festival honoring Ceres occurs one week later\, starting February 2. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Sementivae URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1101 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060202 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060203 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:TibvgCPb2UHoegszc3qpQGakxHKG CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Sementivae\, also known as Feriae Sementivae\, is a Roman festival of sowing. It is held in honor of Ceres (the goddess of agriculture) and Tellus (Mother Earth). The initial half of the event is a festival in honor of Tellus which runs from January 24 through January 26. The festival honoring Ceres occurs one week later\, starting February 2. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Sementivae URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1102 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060213 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060214 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:0sjwaKLqqbnQ9c1ZnPjRXY5Kj8IM CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Parentalia. Roman festival for honoring one's dead parents. Families gathered among the tombs of loved ones and made offerings or sacrifices of grain and wine to their souls. The Parentalia was the first of three Roman festivals in February for appeasing the dead which started on the Ides and lasted until the 22nd. It typically fell on February 13 or 15\, and was followed by the Feralia and Caristia. During this time all temples were closed\, marriages were forbidden\, and public officials suspended business for the duration of the festivals. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Parentalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1025 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060215 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060216 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:pTqsmBbS2lSp6lYOsOKRAYptwRHR CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Lupercalia were a very ancient\, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival\, held on February 15 to honor Faunus\, pagan god of fertility and forests. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Lupercalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1027 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060217 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060218 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:pNzgvrBB79jreXm0oHjkh3088Jpm CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Quirinalia\, in honour of Quirinus pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Quirinalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1028 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060222 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060223 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:RubnQ0GX3u1qRRzx3eMngEZs3NMm CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Caristia\, or Cara cognatio\, was a Roman feast day that fell on the 22nd of February\, between the Feralia and the Terminalia. It is the occasion of family reunion\, on this day Roman fathers would pay special attention to their families. This particular festival did not have any religious obligations or affiliations\, and was considered by some to be a break in February for Romans from the multitude of festivals celebrated in this month. See Ovid's Fasti. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Caristia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1092 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060222 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060223 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:jx0YAonQ3pm3viAc1h0u6JBLeOrL CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Feralia was a Roman feast honoring the "infernal powers". It typically fell on February 22 and was the last day of the Parentalia\, a week-long festival that honored the dead. The Feralia was also religious holiday sacred to Jupiter\, whose surname was Feretrius. Also\, is a powerful demon in Danilo and Fernando's story. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Feralia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1095 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=2 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060224 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060225 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:aIps0fvsMhkRlJ8sfKJPTNamBDr9 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Regifugium or Fugalia was an annual observance that took place every February 24. In Latin\, the name of the observance transparently means "flight of the king." What exactly this observance was occasioned by is a matter of some controversy. According to Varro and Ovid\, this was a festival commemorating the flight of the last king of Rome\, Tarquinius Superbus\, in 510 BC. Ovid's Fasti contains the longest surviving account of the observance\; he begins: Nunc mihi dicenda est regis fuga. Traxit ab illa sextus ab extremo nomina mense dies. Ultima Tarquinius Romanæ gentis habebat regna\, vir iniustus\, fortis ad arma tamen. (Now I must tell of the flight of the King\, six days1 from the end of the month. The last of the Tarquins possessed the Roman nation\, an unjust man\, but nevertheless strong in war.) Plutarch disagrees\; he holds that since the Rex Sacrorum\, substitute for the former king of Rome in various religious rituals\, held no civic or military role\, but nevertheless was bound to offer a public sacrifice in the Comitia on this date\, the "flight of the king" was the swift exit the proxy king was required to make from that place of public business. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Regifugium URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1100 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060301 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060302 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:6bdGsrIzQ4t9U8TLgGNo8DqxG1fj CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Roman New Year pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Roman New Year URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1029 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060301 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060302 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:JAK4KAmzCMAVEy7dClupDEkf20W7 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Matronalia (or Matronales Feriae) was a festival celebrated in Ancient Rome on March 1 every year in honour of Juno in her role of Juno Lucina\, the goddess of childbirth ("Juno who brings children into the light"). Prior to the reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar\, this was the first day of the new year. It was also shared with the first day of the Feriae Marti. The date of the festival was associated with the dedication of a temple to Juno Lucina on the Esquiline Hill circa 268 BCE\, and possibly also a commemoration of the peace between the Romans and the Sabines. On the day\, women would participate in rituals at the temple\, although the details have not been preserved other than the observation that they wore their hair loose (when Roman decorum otherwise required them to wear it up)\, and were not allowed to wear belts or to knot their clothing in any place. At home\, women received gifts from their husbands and daughters\, and Roman husbands were expected to offer prayers for their wives. Women were also expected to prepare a meal for the household slaves (who were given the day off work)\, as Roman men did at the Saturnalia. In late Roman times\, young women would also receive gifts from their admirers. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Matronalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1030 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060314 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060315 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:qezKDdvdkmtspiAWi44a7QzeDVR6 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Equirria (Festival of Mars - held on February 27\, First Equirria and March 14\, Second Equirria) were holy days with religious and military significance at either end of the new year celebrations for Mars. The Roman state placed great emphasis on celebrating the god of war - to support the army\, and to boost public morale. Priests performed rites purifying of the army. Celebrants held horse races on the Campius Martius (field of Mars)\, and drove a scapegoat out of the city of Rome\, expelling the old and bringing in the new. March 1 was the New Year in the Julian Calendar. Equus October was a festival on 15 October (idus)\, in which the right hand horse of the winning pair of a race was sacrificed to Mars. The tail was rushed to the regia to have its blood drip on the hearth there. There was a traditional fight over its head between the inhabitants of the Subura who wanted it for the Turris Mamilia\, and those of the Via Sacria who wanted it for the regia. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Equirria URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1031 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060315 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060316 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:A6jU1jOE4pXlGMVckAUWOfBfYOom CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Roman god Bacchus. Introduced into Rome from lower Italy by way of Etruria (c. 200 BC)\, the bacchanalia were originally held in secret and attended by women only. The festivals occurred on three days of the year in the grove of Simila near the Aventine Hill\, on March 16 and March 17. Later\, admission to the rites was extended to men and celebrations took place five times a month. According to Livy\, the extension happened in an era when the leader of the Bacchus cult was Paculla Annia - though it is now believed that some men had participated before that. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Bacchanalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1032 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060317 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060318 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:GoE8sEE0aE1snx78woV9P5c96ruo CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Ancient Roman religious tradition\, Agonalia\, or Agonia\, was a festival celebrated several times a year\, in honor of various divinities\, such as Janus and Agonius\, whom the Romans used to invoke upon their undertaking any business of importance. The word is derived either from Agonia\, " a victim\," or from Agonium\, "a festival." Its institution\, like that of other religious rites and ceremonies\, was attributed to Numa Pompilius. We learn from the ancient calendars that it was celebrated on the three following days: January 9\, May 21\, and December 11\; to which we should probably add March 17\, the day on which the Liberalia was celebrated\, since this festival is also called Agonia or Agonium Martiale. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Agonalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1033 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060317 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060318 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:HGRBIgtmgrYgEoItkswgB9Baa1sx CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Liberalia (17 March) is the festival of Liber Pater and his consort Libera. The Romans celebrated Liberalia with sacrifices\, processions\, ribald and gauche songs\, and masks which were hung on trees. This feast celebrates the maturation of young boys to manhood. Roman boys\, usually at age 14\, would remove the bulla praetexta\, a hollow charm of gold or leather\, which parents placed about the necks of children to ward off evil spirits. At the Liberalia ceremony the young men might place the bulla on an altar (with a lock of hair or the stubble of his first shave placed inside) and dedicate it to the god\, Lares. Mothers often retrieved the discarded bulla praetexta and kept it out of superstition. If the son ever achieved a public triumph\, the mother could display the bulla to ward off any evil that might be wished upon the son by envious people. The young men discarded the toga praetexta\, which was probably derived from Etruscan dress and was decorated with a broad purple border and worn with the bulla\, by boys and girls. The boys donned the clothing of adulthood\, the pure white toga virilis\, or "man's gown". The garment identified him as a citizen of Rome\, making him an eligible voter. The celebration on March 17th was meant to honor Liber Pater\, an ancient god of fertility and wine (like Bacchus\, the Roman version of the Greek god\, Dionysius). Liber Pater is also a vegetation god\, responsible for protecting seed. Liber\, again like Dionysius\, had female priests although Liber's priests were older women. Wearing wreaths of ivy\, the priestesses made special cakes\, or libia\, of oil and honey which passing devotees would have them sacrifice on their behalf. Over time this feast evolved and included the goddess Libera\, Liber Pater's consort\, and the feast divided so that Liber governed the male seed and Libera the female. This ancient Italian ceremony was a "country" or rustic ceremony. The processional featured a large phallus which the devotees carried throughout the countryside to bring the blessing of fertility to the land and the people. The procession and the phallus were meant also to protect the crops from evil. At the end of the procession\, a virtuous and respected matron placed a wreath upon the phallus. This ancient feast is also sacred to the Nazorean Essenes. According to the Essenes\, the Liberalia is held on March 27 and honors the vegetation god\, Liber. Liber watches over the maturation of boys to adulthood\, usually at age 17 (according to the Essenes)\, symbollically at the feast\, the boys discard the purple-bordered togas for plain adult togas. Related to the celebration of the Liberalia is the Procession of the Argei\, celebrated on March 16th and 17th. The argei were 27 sacred shrines created by the Numa (very powerful ancient gods who are divine beings without form or face) and found throughout the regions of Rome. However\, modern scholars have not discovered their meaning or use. In the argei celebration\, 30 argei were fashioned from rushes into shapes resembling men\; later in the year they were tossed into the river(s). The origin of this celebration is lost in the mist of time\, but many scholars feel that it may have been a ritualistic offering meant to appease and praise the Numa and that the 30 argei probably represented the thirty elder Roman curiae\, or possibly represented the 30 Latin townships. Other ancient scholars wrote that the use of the bull-rush icons was meant to deter celebrants from human sacrifice\, which was done to honor Saturn. Some historical documents indicate that the argei(the sacred places) took their names from the chieftains who came with Hercules\, the Argive\, to Rome and then occupied the Capitoline (Saturnian) Hill. There is no way at present to verify this information\, but it does coincide with the belief that Rome was founded by the Pelasgians and the name Argos is linked to that group. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Liberalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1099 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060319 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060320 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:hAq38102N38t4TyCXRN0iVhQjNUb CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Ancient Roman religious tradition\, the Quinquatria or Quinquatrus was a festival sacred to Minerva\, celebrated on the 19 March. It was so called according to Varro\,[1] because it was held on the fifth day after the Ides\, in the same way as the Tusculans called a festival on the sixth day after the Ides Sexatrus or one on the seventh Septimatrus. Festus (s.v.) also states that the Faliscans too called a festival on the tenth day after the Ides Decimatrus. Both Varro and Festus state that the Quinquatrus was celebrated for only one day\, but Ovid[2] says that it was celebrated for five days\, and was for this reason called by this name: that on the first day no blood was shed\, but that on the last four there were contests of gladiators. It would appear however that the first day was only the festival properly so called\, and that the last four were merely an addition made perhaps in the time of Caesar to gratify the people\, who became so passionately fond of gladiatorial combats. The ancient Calendars also assign only one day to the festival. Ovid says that this festival was celebrated in commemoration of the birthday of Minerva\; but according to Festus it was sacred to Minerva because her temple on the Aventine was consecrated on that day. On the fifth day of the festival\, according to Ovid\,[3] the trumpets used in sacred rites were purified\; but this seems to have been originally a separate festival called Tubilustrium\, which was celebrated as we know from the ancient Calendars on the 23 March\, and would of course\, when the Quinquatrus was extended to five days\, fall on the last day of that festival. As this festival was sacred to Minerva\, it seems that women were accustomed to consult fortune-tellers and diviners upon this day. Domitian caused it to be celebrated every year in his Alban villa\, situated at the foot of the Alban hills\, and instituted a collegium to superintend the celebration\, which consisted of the hunting of wild beasts\, of the exhibition of plays\, and of contests of orators and poets[4]. At the Quinquatria in 59\, Nero invited his mother\, Agrippina the Younger\, to his villa near Baiae\, in an attempt to assassinate her. His old tutor\, Anicetus\, whom he had raised to be captain of the fleet of Misenum\, had undertaken to construct a vessel which could be sunk\, without exciting suspicion. Agrippina landed at Bauli\, between Baiae and Cape Misenum\, and completed her journey in a litter. After the banquet\, when night had fallen\, she was induced to return to Bauli in the vessel which had been prepared for her destruction. But the mechanism did not work as planned\, and Agrippina succeeded in swimming to shore\, from which she proceeded to her villa on the Lucrine lake. Nero soon after succeeded in his goal\, however\, with further help from Anicetus.[5] There was also another festival of this name called Quinquatrus Minusculae or Quinquatrus Minores\, celebrated on the Ides of June\, on which the tibicines went through the city in procession to the temple of Minerva. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Quinquatria URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1034 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060321 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060322 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:8bajvsNp7oSGWvTRqccIAmvzAKz4 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In the Roman calendar\, March was sacred to Mars. The "jumping priests\," or Salii began the Festival of the Salii on March 21 with a purification of the sacred trumpets that the Romans carried off to war. That date was originally the new year because it was the start of the growing and campaign season. On March 21\, the Salii marched to the Regia taking the bronze Ancilia\, the sacred shield that had fallen down from heaven\, and its 11 copies. They danced through the streets carrying poles with the shields mounted on them in their left hands. With their other hand\, they banged the shields with a drumstick. Even in the time of Cicero\, the hymns they sang were so ancient that Cicero could not understand them. At the end of each night\, they would stop at a place to be feasted before starting up again the next day. This festival would end on March 24 when they would return to the Regia and return the shields. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Salii Festival URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1096 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060322 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060323 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:2d00dmkipT44ub0hwRuqbCJKnsmp CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Ancient Roman religious tradition\, the hilaria (Greek: ἱ\;λ\;ά\;ρ\;ι\;α\;\; Latin: hilaris\, "hilarious") were festivals celebrated on the vernal equinox to honor Cybele. The Romans took this feast originally from the Greeks\, who called it Α\;Ν\;Α\;Β\;Α\;Σ\;Ι\;Σ\;\, q.d. Ascensus: the eve of that day they spent in tears and lamentations\, and denominated it Κ\;Α\;Τ\;Α\;Β\;Α\;Σ\;Ι\;Σ\;\, Descensus. Afterwards\, the Greeks took the name Ι\;Λ\;Α\;Ρ\;Ι\;Α\;\, from the Romans\, as appears from Photius's Bibliotheca\, in his codex of the life of the philosopher Isidore of Alexandria. The term seems originally to have been a name which was given to any day or season of rejoicing. The hilaria were\, therefore\, according to Maximus Monachus[1] either private or public. Among the former\, he thinks it the day on which a person married\, and on which a son was born\; among the latter\, those days of public rejoicings appointed by a new emperor. Such days were devoted to general rejoicings and public sacrifices\, and no one was allowed to show any symptoms of grief or sorrow. But the Romans also celebrated hilaria\, as a feria stativa\, on the 8th day before the Kalends of April—March 25—in honour of Cybele\, the mother of the gods\; and it is probably to distinguish these hilaria from those mentioned above\, that the Augustan History [2] calls them Hilaria Matris Deûm. The day of its celebration was the first after the vernal equinox\, or the first day of the year which was longer than the night. The winter with its gloom had passed away\, and the first day of a better season was spent in rejoicings. The manner of its celebration during the time of the republic is unknown\, except that Valerius Maximus[3] mentions games in honour of the mother of the gods. Respecting its celebration at the time of the empire\, we learn from Herodian that\, among other things\, there was a solemn procession\, in which the statue of the goddess was carried\, and before this statue were carried the most costly specimens of plate and works of art belonging either to wealthy Romans or to the emperors themselves. All kinds of games and amusements were allowed on this day\; masquerades were the most prominent among them\, and everyone might\, in his disguise\, imitate whomsoever he liked\, and even magistrates. The hilaria were in reality only the last day of a festival of Cybele\, which commenced on March 22\, and was solemnised by the Galli with various mysterious rites [4]. It must\, however\, be observed that the hilaria are neither mentioned in the Roman calendar nor in Ovid's Fasti. Herodian details[5] an assassination plot by Maternus against Emperor Commodus that was to occur on the hilaria. Maternus planned to disguise himself and his followers as members of the Praetorian Guard\, and proceed among the true members of the Guard\, until they were close enough to kill Commodus. However\, one of Maternus's followers revealed the plot ahead of time\, betraying him because\, according to Herodian\, his men "preferred a legitimate emperor to a robber tyrant." On the day of hilaria\, he was beheaded and his followers punished. The public celebrated the emperor's safety\, and Commodus sacrificed to Cybele for protecting him from harm. According to the Calendar of Philocalus from 354\, a Hilaria of Isis was celebrated on November 3. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Hilaria URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1098 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060330 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060331 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:Za90D6wCY8pLE410EON8OIcXYjik CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman mythology\, Salus was worshipped extensively by the Romans. Under the name Salus Publica Populi Romani ("goddess of the public welfare of the Roman people")\, there was a temple devoted to her on the Quirinal Hill. It was built in 302 BC (Livy X\, 1\, 9) Salus was depicted with snakes and a bowl in many artistic representations of her. Hygieia Her festival took place on March 30th. In Greek mythology\, Hygieia (Roman equivalent: Salus) was a daughter of Asclepius. She was the goddess of health\, cleanliness and sanitation (and later: the moon)\, and played an important part in her father's cult (see also: asklepieion). While her father was more directly associated with healing\, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health. Though Hygieia had been the subject of a local cult since at least the 7th century BC\, she did not begin to spread out until the Oracle at Delphi recognized her\, and after the devastating Athens plague in 429 and 427 BC and in Rome in 293 BC. Her primary temples were in Epidaurus\, Corinth\, Cos and Pergamon. Pausanias remarked that\, at the asclepieion of Titane in Sicyon (founded by Alexanor\, Asclepius' grandson)\, statues of Hygieia were covered by women's hair and pieces of Babylonian clothes. According to inscriptions\, the same sacrifices were offered at Paros. Ariphron\, a Sicyonian artist from the 4th century BC wrote a well-known hymn celebrating her. Statues of Hygieia were created by Scopas\, Bryaxis and Timotheus\, among others. She was often depicted as a young woman feeding a large snake that was wrapped around her body. Sometimes the snake would be drinking from a jar that she carried. These attributes were later adopted by the Gallo-Roman healing goddess\, Sirona. Hygieia was accompanied by her brother\, Telesphorus. Her name is the source of the word "hygiene". pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Salus URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1035 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=4 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060401 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060402 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:1dRJDAf0Fxg3OzSv5Hxh67yhB613 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Veneralia (April 1) was the Ancient Roman festival of Venus Verticordia ("Changer of hearts")\, the goddess of love and beauty. The worship of the goddess Fortuna Virilis ("Bold fortune") was also part of this festival. In Rome\, women removed jewelry from the statue of the goddess\, washed her\, and adorned her with flowers\, and similarly bathed themselves in the public baths wearing wreaths of myrtle on their heads. It was generally a day for women to seek divine help in their relations with men. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Veneralia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1036 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=4 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060412 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060413 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:fxaVxCeWBxzVlsz4vlBvrF0AuLwI CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Cerealia was a 7-day holiday celebrated in ancient Rome in honor of the goddess Ceres. The exact dates of the April festival are uncertain: it may have started on April 12 and ended on April 19 (Or it may have started on the Ides of April\, i.e. April 13\, or even on April 7.) In Rome\, this was the primary festival of Ceres and was accompanied by the Ludi Ceriales or "Games of Ceres" in the Circus Maximus. Ovid's description (Fasti iv.494) mentions that Ceres"Demeter's search for her lost daughter Proserpina was represented by women clothed in white\, running about with lighted torches. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Ludi Cereales URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1037 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=4 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060415 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060416 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:bRXP9aTMJeICJa2V0Aw41yeZjvwe CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Fordicia\, also called Hordicidia\, was a Roman festival for the goddess Tellus held on April 15. During the ceremony\, a pregnant cow was sacrificed\, the calf fetus burned and the ashes saved for the Parilia festival. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Fordicia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1038 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=4 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060421 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060422 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:SmR2O05ZyYUjASHqt4JSb0fFNvEK CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Parilia was a festival described in detail by Ovid in Fasti. It took place on April 21st and consisted of offerings of grains\, cakes\, and milk to the god of shepherds\, Pales. It served as a festival for protection and fertility for farms. The purpose of the festival was twofold. Originally\, it was a pastoral festival to purify both sheep and shepherd. Later\, the festival was recognized as the birthday of Rome\, the day on which Romulus killed Remus and founded the city in 753 BCE. The Parilia is outstanding among Roman festivals as it incorporates both the rural and urban celebrations of Roman religion\, and also incorporates elements from other festivals. The origins of the Parilia are not entirely certain. The original festival itself is believed to predate the founding of the city. It is believed to have evolved from very early pagan celebrations of spring and fertility. It was originally a celebration of the deity Pales. The identity of Pales is somewhat obscure as well. It is unknown whether the deity was male or female\, or even if it was intended to be a single deity or pair of deities. In the Fasti\, Ovid invokes Pales as a singular female deity. Some identify certain statues of an elderly woman leaning on a shepherd staff as Pales\, but others hesitate to make this claim\, and believe no representations of Pales actually exist. Offerings were often made "sive deo sive deae." The association of the Parilia with Pales is\, in fact\, in doubt. However\, references to the Parilia as the Palilia reinforce the association. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Parilia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1039 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=4 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060425 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060426 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:SKpZaK2VcoTSdHUea1fsDdg41NGa CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman mythology\, Robiga (meaning green or life) along with her brother\, Robigus\, were the fertility gods of the Romans. Her festival is the Robigalia and is on April 25. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Robigalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1040 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=4 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060428 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060429 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:vJkBxgftccF9QsBKh0O46xm9DUSo CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Floralia\, also known as the Florifertum\, was an ancient Roman festival dedicated to the goddess Flora. It was held in late April through early May and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life\, marked with dancing\, drinking\, and flowers. The Floralia was on the IV Kalends May. Dedicated to Flora\, the goddess of flowers and vegetation\, this day was considered by the prostitutes of Rome to be their own. While flowers decked the temples\, Roman citizens wore colorful clothing instead of the usual white\, and offerings were made of milk and honey to Flora. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Floralia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1041 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=5 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060501 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060502 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:Mdko4TshjTUJH11yr9E7WYNbwqJQ CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman mythology\, Bona Dea (literally "the good goddess") was the goddess of fertility\, healing\, virginity\, and women. She was the daughter of the god Faunus and was often referred to as Fauna.Topics in Roman mythology Important Gods: Jupiter Mars Quirinus Vesta Juno Fortuna Minerva Mercury Vulcan Ceres Venus Lares Legendary History Roman religion The Flamens Greek"Roman myth compared —\; Other Rustic Gods: Bona Dea Carmenta Camenae Dea Dia Convector Flora Lupercus Pales Pomona Egeria Bona Dea was the perpetually virginal goddess\, associated with virginity and fertility in women. She was also associated with healing\, with the sick being tended to in her temple garden with medicinal herbs. She was regarded with great reverence by lower-class citizens\, slaves and women\; who went to her seeking aid in sickness or for fertility. Bona Dea was invoked for healing and for freedom from slavery\; many of her worshippers were freed slaves and plebeians\, and many were women seeking aid in sickness or for fertility. She was worshipped in a temple on the Aventine Hill\, but her secret rites were performed in the home of a prominent Roman magistrate. The rites were held on December 4\, and only included women. Even paintings or drawings of men or male animals were forbidden\, along with the words "wine" and "myrtle" because she had once been beaten by Faunus with a myrtle stick after she got drunk. The rites were conducted annually by the wife of the senior magistrate present in Rome and were assisted by the Vestal Virgins. Very little is known about the ceremony\, but the worship seems to have been agricultural in origin. Bona Dea is usually depicted sitting on a throne\, holding a cornucopia. The snake is her attribute\, a symbol of healing\, and consecrated snakes were kept in her temple at Rome\, indicating her phallic nature. Her image frequently occurred on ancient Roman coins. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Bona Dea URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1042 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=5 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060509 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060510 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:y1lMy3MJQgdODRhokSruPF0Bftea CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman mythology\, the larvae or lemures were the spectres or spirits of the dead\; they were the malignant version of the lares. Some Roman writers describe lemures as the common name for all the spirits of the dead\, and divide them into two classes: the lares\, or the benevolent souls of the family\, which haunted and guarded the domus or household\, and the larvae\, or the restless and fearful souls of wicked men. But the more common idea was that the Lemures and Larvae were the same. They were said to wander about at night and to torment and frighten the living. On May 9\, 11\, and 13\, the Lemuralia or Lemuria\, the Feast of the Lemures\, occurred\, when black beans were offered to the Larvae in the hopes of propitiating them\; loud noises were also used to frighten them away. Lemurs were so named by Linnaeus for their big eyes\, nocturnal habits and unearthly noises they make at night. Some species of lemur were identified by their calls before scientists had seen individuals. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Feast of the Larvae URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1043 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=5 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060515 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060516 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:s7yp9mhit31eGbfGFcnOLEQriBW2 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Mercuralia is a Roman celebration known also as the "Festival of Mercury". Mercury was thought to be the god of merchants and commerce. On May 15 merchants would sprinkle their heads\, their ships and merchandise\, and their businesses with water taken from the well at Porta Capena. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Mercuralia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1044 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=5 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060521 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060522 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:d0g2DD5iVg7WcGGvdeoK1cu2mNHs CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Etruscan and Roman mythology Veiovis\, Veive or Vediovis\, was an old Italian or Etruscan deity. Aulus Gellius\, in the Noctes Atticae\, speculated that Veiovis was the inverse or ill-omened counterpart of Jupiter\; compare Summanus. Aulus Gellius observes that the particle ve- that prefixes the name of the god also appears in Latin words such as vesanus\, "insane\," and thus interprets the name Veiovis as the anti-Jove. Aulus Gellius also informs us that Veiovis received the sacrifice of a female goat\, sacrificed ritu humano\;[1] this obscure phrase could either mean "after the manner of a human sacrifice" or "in the manner of a burial."[2] He has been identified with Apollo\, with the infant Jupiter\, and as the Anti-Jupiter (i.e. the Jupiter of the Lower World) as suggested by his name. In art\, he was depicted as a youth holding a laurel wreath and some arrows\, next to a goat. He had a temple between the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill in Rome\, where his statue had a beardless head and carried a bundle of arrows in his right hand. It stood next to a statue of a goat. He was probably a god of expiation and the protector of runaway criminals. Sacrifices were made to him annually on March 7. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Vediovis URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1045 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=6 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060603 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060604 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:MRsRrgII1VJ75rPclRr0sbXTrYWb CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Bellona was an Ancient Roman war goddess. She is believed to be one of the numinous gods of the Romans (without a particular mythology and possibly of Etruscan origin)\, and is supposed by many to have been the Romans' original war deity\, predating the identification of Mars with Ares. She accompanied Mars into battle and is taken variously as his sister\, wife or daughter. Her festival was celebrated on June 3. She is also (as at her temple in Ostia) syncreted with Magna Mater Bellona's attribute is a sword and she is depicted wearing a helmet and armed with a spear and a torch. Politically\, all Senate meetings relating to foreign war were conducted in the Templum Bellonae (Temple of Bellona) on the Collis Capitolinus outside the pomerium. Bellona's festival was celebrated on June 3. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Bellona Festival URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1046 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=6 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060607 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060608 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:haEf6XX0SEny8mgpICVnRCvuETkR CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth\, home\, and family in Roman mythology. Though she is often mistaken as analogous to Hestia in Greek mythology\; she had a large\, albeit mysterious role in Roman religion long before she appeared in Greece. Vesta was much more important to the Romans than Hestia was to the Greeks. Little is known about the goddess\, as unlike other Roman deities\, she had no distinct personality\, was never depicted and went without mention in myths. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred flame that burned at her hearth and temples. As goddess of the hearth\, she was was also the symbol of the home\, around which a newborn child must be carried before it could be received into the family. Every meal began and ended with an offering to her: Vesta\, in all dwellings of men and immortals Yours is the highest honor\, the sweet wine offered First and last at the feast\, poured out to you duly. Never without you can gods or mortals hold banquet. Every Roman city had a public hearth sacred to Vesta\, with a fire that was never allowed to go out. If a new colony was to be established\, the coals from the main city's hearth were taken with the colonists so that a fire could be kindled on the new city's hearth. Vesta was celebrated at the Vestalia\, June 7 to June 15. On the first day of the festivities the penus Vestae (the curtained sanctum sanctorum of her temple) was opened\, for the only time during the year\, for women to offer sacrifices in. Such sacrifices included the removal of an unborn calf from a pregnant cow. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Vestalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1047 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=6 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060613 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060614 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:cNEoxIVFfiny3Jj3eDdyWCmSC892 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Ancient Roman religious tradition\, the Quinquatria or Quinquatrus was a festival sacred to Minerva\, celebrated on the 19 March. It was so called according to Varro\,[1] because it was held on the fifth day after the Ides\, in the same way as the Tusculans called a festival on the sixth day after the Ides Sexatrus or one on the seventh Septimatrus. Festus (s.v.) also states that the Faliscans too called a festival on the tenth day after the Ides Decimatrus. Both Varro and Festus state that the Quinquatrus was celebrated for only one day\, but Ovid[2] says that it was celebrated for five days\, and was for this reason called by this name: that on the first day no blood was shed\, but that on the last four there were contests of gladiators. It would appear however that the first day was only the festival properly so called\, and that the last four were merely an addition made perhaps in the time of Caesar to gratify the people\, who became so passionately fond of gladiatorial combats. The ancient Calendars also assign only one day to the festival. Ovid says that this festival was celebrated in commemoration of the birthday of Minerva\; but according to Festus it was sacred to Minerva because her temple on the Aventine was consecrated on that day. On the fifth day of the festival\, according to Ovid\,[3] the trumpets used in sacred rites were purified\; but this seems to have been originally a separate festival called Tubilustrium\, which was celebrated as we know from the ancient Calendars on the 23 March\, and would of course\, when the Quinquatrus was extended to five days\, fall on the last day of that festival. As this festival was sacred to Minerva\, it seems that women were accustomed to consult fortune-tellers and diviners upon this day. Domitian caused it to be celebrated every year in his Alban villa\, situated at the foot of the Alban hills\, and instituted a collegium to superintend the celebration\, which consisted of the hunting of wild beasts\, of the exhibition of plays\, and of contests of orators and poets[4]. At the Quinquatria in 59\, Nero invited his mother\, Agrippina the Younger\, to his villa near Baiae\, in an attempt to assassinate her. His old tutor\, Anicetus\, whom he had raised to be captain of the fleet of Misenum\, had undertaken to construct a vessel which could be sunk\, without exciting suspicion. Agrippina landed at Bauli\, between Baiae and Cape Misenum\, and completed her journey in a litter. After the banquet\, when night had fallen\, she was induced to return to Bauli in the vessel which had been prepared for her destruction. But the mechanism did not work as planned\, and Agrippina succeeded in swimming to shore\, from which she proceeded to her villa on the Lucrine lake. Nero soon after succeeded in his goal\, however\, with further help from Anicetus.[5] There was also another festival of this name called Quinquatrus Minusculae or Quinquatrus Minores\, celebrated on the Ides of June\, on which the tibicines went through the city in procession to the temple of Minerva. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Quinquatrus minusculae URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1048 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=6 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060620 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060621 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:GMsN7J44zjnvx12Qhgsh3LnTCFNi CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:June 20 –\; Festival in honour of Summanus pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Summanus Festival URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1049 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=6 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060623 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060624 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:H3CFnfh0WwEqKceqgXiNhoz5qhK0 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:June 23 - day of bad omens: anniversary of the battle of Lake Trasimene\, where a Roman army is destroyed by Hannibal pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:day of bad omens URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1050 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060705 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060706 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:7I4tNlKfsfyiZ3C9R4z8agZBMM1a CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:July 5 –\; Poplifugia\, festival in honour of Jupiter pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Poplifugia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1051 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060706 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060707 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:3DkPf4jfaHnGXckgs7drpWT8LlcA CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:July 6 to 13 –\; Ludi Apollinares\, games in honour of Apollo (since 208 BC) pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Ludi Apollinares URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1052 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060707 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060708 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:tuBvwA56vJW5gjqPfsWRKBqatMIy CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:July 7 –\; Nonae Caprotinae Juno\; also the sacerdotes publici sacrificed to Consus pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Nonae Caprotinae Juno URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1053 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060709 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060710 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:IOshIR10c05ngtHtVYIA2rHytzzJ CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Caprotinia\, or feasts of Juno Caprotina\, were ancient Roman festivals which were celebrated on July 9\, in favour of the female slaves. During this solemnity they ran about\, beating themselves with their fists and with rods. None but women assisted in the sacrifices offered at this feast. Kennet says\, the origin of this feast\, or the famous Nonae Caprotinae\, or Poplifugium\, is doubly related by Plutarch\, according to the two common opinions. First\, because Romulus disappeared on that day\, when an assembly being held in the Palus Capreae\, or Goats'-Marsh\, on a sudden happened a most wonderful tempest\, accompanied with terrible thunder\, and other unusual disorders in the air. The common people fled all away to secure themselves\; but\, after the tempest was over\, could never find their king. Or\, else\, from Caprificus\, a wild fig-tree\, because\, in the Gallic war\, a Roman virgin\, who was prisoner in the enemy's camp\, got up into a wild fig-tree\, and holding out a lighted torch toward the city\, gave the Romans a signal to fall on\; which they did with such good success\, as to obtain a considerable victory. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Caprotinia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1054 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060718 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060719 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:AKJ0Q3dz50kj0vZiLsAcu2PhqaGz CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:July 18 –\; day of bad omens: defeat in Allia (390 BC) that led to the sack of Rome by the Gauls pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:day of bad omens URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1055 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060719 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060720 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:t6rpk5nAgpFNpllIo1QTcYELv9H2 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Lucaria was an ancient Roman feast\, solemnized in the woods\, where the Romans\, defeated and pursued by the Gauls\, retired and concealed themselves\; it was held\, on July 19\, in a wood\, between the Tyber and the road called Via Salaria. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Lucaria URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1056 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060723 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060724 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:MwRFNrndw7e3ot1yW1ECRD8pfEHg CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:July 23 –\; Neptunalia held in honour of Neptune pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Neptunalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1057 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=7 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060725 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060726 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:vIX89HFom2J8jOznmbLcLJ8g9FpZ CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Furinalia were Roman festivals instituted in honour of Furina\, the goddess of robbers among the Romans\; they took place on July 25. This goddess had a temple at Rome\, and was served by a particular priest\, who was one of the fifteen Flamens. Near the temple there was a sacred wood\, in which Caius Gracchus was killed. Cicero takes her to be the same as one of the Furies. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Furinalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1097 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060810 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060811 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:RWSPoHvXjWfqbXDHWF2nC1ntM0Qn CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:On August 25\, the Opiconsivia (or Opeconsiva or Opalia) Roman festival was held in honor of Ops. Opiconsivia was also a surname of Ops herself. And this name was also given to December 19\, on which day the Opalia were celebrated\, also in her honor (some mention also August 10 and December 9). The Latin word consivia (or consiva) derives from conserere ("to sow"). Hence\, the word Opiconsivia may be interpreted as meaning "the sowing of crops"\, since Ops ultimately means "crops" in the sense of "riches\, goods". This word is also related to Consus\, the male counterpart of Ops as "the seeder". Both Ops and Consus were deemed chthonic (underworld) deities which made the vegetation grow. Since her abode was inside the earth\, Ops was invoked by her worshippers while sitting\, with their hands touching the ground\, according to Macrobius (Saturnalia\, I:10). Consus seems to be an alias of Saturn in the chthonic aspect\, since he is also held to be the husband of Ops. Ops\, the Earth Mother\, was also considered the Great Mother of the Gods. As such\, Ops is an alias of Rhea\, Cybele\, Demeter\, and so on\, impersonating the earth as the giver of riches. The festival of Consus\, the Consualia\, was celebrated twice a year: once on August 21\, after the harvest\, and once on December 15\, after the sowing of crops was finished. The Consualia was instituted by Romulus\, and commemorated the rape (and insemination) of the Sabine women by the Romans. The festival was superintended by the Flamines of Quirinus (Mars)\, helped by the Vestals. The main priestess at the regia wore a white veil. A chariot race was performed in the Circus Maximus\, under the direction of the pontifices. Horses and mules\, their heads crowned with chaplets made of flowers\, also partook in the celebration. Consus was eventually identified with Neptunus Equester\, the alias and counterpart of Poseidon Hippios. Poseidon (Neptune) had been associated with the animal since archaic times. Reference: H. H. Scullard\, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (London: Thames and Hudson\, 1981)\, 177-8\, 181\, 205\, 207. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Opalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1058 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060813 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060814 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:ah7ZMKByOfRMB2sXNAditZCbZqC2 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:August 13 - Vertumnalia in honour of Vertumnus pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Vertumnalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1059 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060813 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060814 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:F3P5fzXwPRNMpIh4LGycD60TEFgQ CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The festival of Nemoralia (aka Festival of Torches) was celebrated by the ancient Romans either on the 13-15 August or on the August Full Moon\, in honor of the goddess Diana. This festival was later adopted by Catholics as The Feast of the Assumption. Ovid describes the celebration thusly: "In the Arrician valley\, there is a lake surrounded by shady forests\, Held sacred by a religion from the olden times... On a long fence hang many pieces of woven thread\, and many tablets are placed there as grateful gifts to the Goddess. Often does a woman whose prayers Diana answered\, With a wreath of flowers crowning her head\, Walk from Rome carrying a burning torch... There a stream flows down gurgling from its rocky bed..." On this day\, worshippers would form a shimmering procession of torches and candles around the dark waters of Lake Nemi (Nemi\, from the Latin nemus\, meaning sacred wood or sacred grove)\, Diana's Mirror. The lights of their candles join the light of the moon\, dancing in reflection upon the surface of the water. Today's festival is held in the Greek fashion. Hundreds join together at the lake\, wearing wreaths of flowers. According to Plutarch\, part of the ritual (before the procession around the lake) is the washing of hair and dressing it with flowers. It is a day of rest for women and slaves. Hounds are also honored and dressed with blossoms. Travellers between the north and south banks of the lake are carried in small boats lit by lanterns. Similar lamps were used by Vestal virgins and have been found with images of the Goddess at Nemi\, so Diana and Vesta are sometimes considered to be the same Goddess. One 1st century CE Roman poet\, Propertius\, did not attend the festival\, but observed it from the periphery as indicated in these words to his beloved: "Ah\, if you would only walk here in your leisure hours. But we cannot meet today\, When I see you hurrying in excitement with a burning torch To the grove of Nemi where you Bear light in honour of the Goddess Diana." Requests and offerings to Diana may include: small written messages on ribbons\, tied to the altar or to trees\; small baked clay or bread statuettes of body parts in need of healing\; small clay images of mother and child\; tiny sculptures of stags\; dance and song\; and fruit such as apples. In addition\, offerings of garlic are made to the Goddess of the Dark Moon\, Hecate\, during the festival. Hunting or killing of any beast is forbidden on Nemoralia. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Nemoralia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1060 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060817 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060818 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:9WC17jwXqVH604aiecOa5i71PNZe CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman mythology\, Portunes (alternatively spelled Portumnes or Portunus) was a god of keys and doors and livestock. He protected the warehouses where grain was stored. Probably because of folk associations between porta "gate\, door" and portus "harbor"\, the "gateway" to the sea\, Portunus later became conflated with Palaemon and evolved into a god primarily of ports and harbors. In the Latin adjective importunus his name was applied to untimely waves and weather and contrary winds\, and the Latin echoes in English opportune and its old-fashioned antonym importune\, meaning "well-timed' and "badly-timed". Hence Portunus is behind both an opportunity and importunate or badly-timed solicitations (OED). His festival\, celebrated on August 17\, the seventeenth day before the Kalends of September\, was the Portumnalia\, a minor occasion in the Roman year. On this day\, keys were thrown into a fire for good luck in a very solemn and lugubrious manner. His attribute was a key and his main temple in the city of Rome was to be found in the Forum Boarium. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Portunalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1061 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060819 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060820 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:iDOQJAboLabeMcbAhwdOq4erq3LD CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Vinalia were Roman festivals in honour of Jupiter and Venus. The first was held on August 19\, and the second on May 1. The Vinalia of August 19 were called Vinalia Rustica\, and were instituted on occasion of the war of the Latins against Mezentius\; in the course of which war\, that people vowed a libation to Jupiter of all the wine in the succeeding vintage. On the same day likewise fell the dedication of a temple to Venus\; whence some authors have fallen into a mistake\, that these Vinalia were sacred to Venus. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Vinalia Rustica URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1062 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060821 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060822 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:9PZGieurrKAbF32uXR88yVg3KtcD CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Consuales Ludi or Consualia is a festival which honors Consus\, the god of counsel\, and the one who protects the harvest which is in storage at the time of the festival\, which took place about the middle of Sextilis (see 21 August). According to Livy the festival honors Neptune. The harvest grains were stored in underground vaults\, and the temple of Consus was also underground. This shrine was covered with earth all year and was only uncovered for this one day. Mars\, as a protector of the harvest\, was also honored on this day\, as were the lares\, the household gods that individual families held sacred. During the celebration horses\, mules\, and asses were exempted from all labour\, and were led through the streets adorned with garlands and flowers. Chariot races were held this day in the Circus Maximus\, which included an odd race in which chariots were pulled by mules. On this day the rape of the Sabine women took place under Romulus. Seeing a need to increase the population of Rome\, Romulus authorized each Roman to forcibly take women from the visiting Sabines as their wives\, but only as appropriate to their social status. A war to avenge this insult was avoided when the kidnapped Sabine women intervened and voluntarily accepted their Roman husbands\, who had been careful to treat them honorably. Some say\, however\, that Romulus only regulated and re-instituted them after they had been before established by Evander. There were also sacrifices to Consus on 7 July and 15 December. Consus' feasts were followed by those of the related goddess Ops: the Opiconsivia on 25 August and the Opalia on 19 December. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Consualia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1063 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060821 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060822 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:lUYVDPBJjBJeFWEMTYt37se70w3r CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Vulcanalia was a festival in ancient Rome held on August 23 each year in honour of the Roman god Vulcan. During the festival bonfires were created in honour of the god\, where fish were sacrificed. It was also customary to make crafts by candlelight in his honour\, as Vulcan was the god of fire\, tools\, and smithing. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Vulcanalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1064 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060824 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060825 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:wdS6Q6Xk1tiECtCnmjVprkqtkcl4 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:August 24 - one of 3 days on which the mundus was opened pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:mundus URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1065 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060825 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060826 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:hB6k7PUiJy47EEw2Nj3b0GV5Saij CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:On August 25\, the Opiconsivia (or Opeconsiva or Opalia) Roman festival was held in honor of Ops. Opiconsivia was also a surname of Ops herself. And this name was also given to December 19\, on which day the Opalia were celebrated\, also in her honor (some mention also August 10 and December 9). The Latin word consivia (or consiva) derives from conserere ("to sow"). Hence\, the word Opiconsivia may be interpreted as meaning "the sowing of crops"\, since Ops ultimately means "crops" in the sense of "riches\, goods". This word is also related to Consus\, the male counterpart of Ops as "the seeder". Both Ops and Consus were deemed chthonic (underworld) deities which made the vegetation grow. Since her abode was inside the earth\, Ops was invoked by her worshippers while sitting\, with their hands touching the ground\, according to Macrobius (Saturnalia\, I:10). Consus seems to be an alias of Saturn in the chthonic aspect\, since he is also held to be the husband of Ops. Ops\, the Earth Mother\, was also considered the Great Mother of the Gods. As such\, Ops is an alias of Rhea\, Cybele\, Demeter\, and so on\, impersonating the earth as the giver of riches. The festival of Consus\, the Consualia\, was celebrated twice a year: once on August 21\, after the harvest\, and once on December 15\, after the sowing of crops was finished. The Consualia was instituted by Romulus\, and commemorated the rape (and insemination) of the Sabine women by the Romans. The festival was superintended by the Flamines of Quirinus (Mars)\, helped by the Vestals. The main priestess at the regia wore a white veil. A chariot race was performed in the Circus Maximus\, under the direction of the pontifices. Horses and mules\, their heads crowned with chaplets made of flowers\, also partook in the celebration. Consus was eventually identified with Neptunus Equester\, the alias and counterpart of Poseidon Hippios. Poseidon (Neptune) had been associated with the animal since archaic times. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Opiconsivia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1066 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=8 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060827 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060828 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:B1V1rfSLdhCbhjoxd0ljiz0ph1Pd CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Volturnalia was the Roman festival on August 27 dedicated to Volturnus\, 'god of the waters\,' god of fountains. Volturnus was a tribal river god who later was identified as god of the Tiber river. The Volturnus River\, in southern Italy\, is named for him. Volturnus was the father of the goddess Juturna\, who was first identified with a spring in Latium near the Numicus River and later with a pool near the Temple of Vesta in the Forum of Rome. They were both honored on this day with feasting\, wine-drinking\, and games. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Volturnalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1067 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=9 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060901 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060902 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:FrzPko10sfpptedDOF4CshmrEO92 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Septmontium was a Roman festival of the seven hills of Rome. It was celebrated in September (or\, according to late calendars\, on 11 December). They sacrificed seven animals at sven times in seven different places within the walls of the city near the seven hills. On that day the emperors were very liberal to the people. During the Septimontium in the Republican period\, Romans refrained from operating horse-drawn carriages. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Septimontium URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1068 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=9 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20060904 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20060905 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:pefy7XU7b0o5iFmGh45cAsCI4Ync CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Ludi Romani ("Roman Games") were a religious festival in ancient Rome. They were held annually since 366 BC\, normally from September 12 to September 14\, but extended to September 5 to September 19\, and eventually started on 4 September in honour of the murdered Julius Caesar. The festival first introduced drama to Rome based on Greek drama. These games (the chief Roman festival) were in honour of Jupiter (Festus\, s. v. Magnos Ludos)\, and are said to have been established by Tarquinius Priscus on the occasion of his conquest of the Latin Apiolae (Livy I.35\, 9)\; though Dionysius (vii. 71) and Cicero (de Div. i. 26\, 55) refer the establishment to the victory over the Latins at Lake Regillus. At first they lasted for one day only\; a second day was added on the expulsion of the kings in 509 B.C. (Dionys. vi. 95)\, a third after the first secession\, 494 B.C. (Liv. vi. 42\, 12). From the year 191 to 171 they lasted ten days (Liv. xxxvi. 2\, xxxix. 22\, 1\; Mommsen\, Röm. Forsch. ii. 54)\, and shortly before Caesar's death they appear to have been a fifteen-day festival (Cic. Verr. i. 1. 0\, 31)\, September 5 to September 19. After Caesar's death a day was added (Cic. Phil. ii. 4. 3\, 110): this day must have been September 4. For Cicero says (Verr. ii. 52\, 130) that there was an interval of 45 days from the ludi Romani to the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae on October 26. Accordingly\, September 19 in the time the Verrines were composed must have been the last day of the Ludi Romani (C.I.L. I.401)\; and so it appears in the Calendars of the Augustan time\, the days of the games being September 4 to September 19. There was the Epulum Jovis on the 13th\, and the Equorum probatio on the 14th. The games in the circus lasted from the 15th to the 19th. In the Calendar of Philocalus (354 A.D.) they run from September 12 to 15 September. The celebration was in the hands at first of the consuls\, afterwards of the curule aediles. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Ludi Romani URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1069 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061004 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061005 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:VnWLWulezyFh9tFn5kKqIOmJbiHh CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:October 4 - Ieiunium Cereris: Fast of Ceres\, instituted in 191 BC\; at that time that date fell in late spring pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Ieiunium Cereris URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1070 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061005 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061006 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:f1NHEZbCJu9WGRFg7JXklceualmj CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:October 5 - one of 3 days on which the mundus was opened pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:mundus URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1071 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061006 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061007 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:75zUzUm8GIVZRt2lpX4NTPaBTUal CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:October 6 - day of bad omens: anniversary of the battle of Arausio (105 BC) pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:day of bad omens URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1072 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061011 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061012 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:GGkOkrzO6Pw97YEl30XssxygBif2 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman religion\, Meditrinalia was an obscure festival celebrated on October 11 in honor of the new vintage\, which was offered in libations to the gods for the first time each year. The festival may have been so called from medendo\, because the Romans then began to drink new wine\, which they mixed with old and which served them instead of physic. Little information about the Meditrinalia survived from early Roman religion\, although the tradition itself did. It was known to be somehow connected to Jupiter and to have been an important ceremony in early agricultural Rome\, but beyond that\, only speculation exists. Meditrina was a Roman goddess who seems to have been a late Roman invention to account for the origin of Meditrinalia. The earliest account of associating the Meditrinalia with such a goddess was by 2nd century grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus\, on the basis of which she is asserted by modern sources to be the Roman goddess of health\, longevity and wine\, with an etymological meaning of "healer" suggested by some. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Meditrinalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1073 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061013 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061014 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:E7KuD0Z9fp6Hw1yAgo7wE6iaOsux CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:October 13 - festival dedicated to Fontus pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Fontus festival URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1074 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061015 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061016 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:ZdNgkkS2n0AjA7x0xNT37UKlikfS CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Equirria (Festival of Mars - held on February 27\, First Equirria and March 14\, Second Equirria) were holy days with religious and military significance at either end of the new year celebrations for Mars. The Roman state placed great emphasis on celebrating the god of war - to support the army\, and to boost public morale. Priests performed rites purifying of the army. Celebrants held horse races on the Campius Martius (field of Mars)\, and drove a scapegoat out of the city of Rome\, expelling the old and bringing in the new. March 1 was the New Year in the Julian Calendar. Equus October was a festival on 15 October (idus)\, in which the right hand horse of the winning pair of a race was sacrificed to Mars. The tail was rushed to the regia to have its blood drip on the hearth there. There was a traditional fight over its head between the inhabitants of the Subura who wanted it for the Turris Mamilia\, and those of the Via Sacria who wanted it for the regia. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Equirria URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1075 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061019 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061020 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:s9FFhZrjuffi7uxrwG7X2a51gbr3 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Armilustrium was a festival in honor of Mars\, the god of war\, celebrated on October 19. On this day the weapons of the soldiers were ritually purified and stored for winter. The army would be assembled and reviewed in the Circus Maximus\, garlanded with flowers and the trumpets (tubae) would be played as part of the purification rites. The Romans gathered with their arms and armour on the Aventine Hill\, and held a procession with torches and sacrificial animals. The dancing priests of Mars known as the Salii may also have taken part in the ceremony. Armilustrium also refers to a large open space on the Aventine Hill where the festival was held. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Armilustrium URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1076 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061101 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061102 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:uAHt6XGLDsLbLiYTuCaXutfEo3Zx CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:November 1 - Pomonia in honor of the orchard goddess Pomona. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Pomonia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1077 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061104 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061105 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:C5bGWOXIuoSYoCGY7amQuS3FIwT2 CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:November 4 to 17 –\; Ludi Plebeii\, games for the people of Rome organized by the curule aedile (since 216 BC) pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Ludi Plebeii URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1078 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061113 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061114 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:FYsdmCha0u7EodD0tHyJYzVhicdg CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman festivals\, the Epulum Jovis was a sumptuous feast offered to Jupiter on November 13. The gods were formally invited\, and attended\; for the statues were brought in rich beds\, furnished with soft pillows\, called pulvinaria. Thus accommodated\, their godships were placed on their couches at the most honourable part of the table\, and served with the rich dainties\, as if they were able to eat\; but the epulones\, or ministers\, who had the care and management of the feast\, performed that function for them\, and no doubt did the part of gastronomic proxies with eclat. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Epulum Jovis URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1079 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061115 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061116 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:eIBudjMl9aR46tmB8JJPupze3mcw CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:November 15 - Festival in honour of Feronia pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Feronia Festival URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1080 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061204 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061205 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:i3Apk3nFulAB1WHU6NYqEetbxwWQ CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Roman mythology\, Bona Dea (literally "the good goddess") was the goddess of fertility\, healing\, virginity\, and women. She was the daughter of the god Faunus and was often referred to as Fauna. Bona Dea was the perpetually virginal goddess\, associated with virginity and fertility in women. She was also associated with healing\, with the sick being tended to in her temple garden with medicinal herbs. She was regarded with great reverence by lower-class citizens\, slaves and women\; who went to her seeking aid in sickness or for fertility. Bona Dea was invoked for healing and for freedom from slavery\; many of her worshippers were freed slaves and plebeians\, and many were women seeking aid in sickness or for fertility. She was worshipped in a temple on the Aventine Hill\, but her secret rites were performed in the home of a prominent Roman magistrate. The rites were held on December 4\, and only included women. Even paintings or drawings of men or male animals were forbidden\, along with the words "wine" and "myrtle" because she had once been beaten by Faunus with a myrtle stick after she got drunk. The rites were conducted annually by the wife of the senior magistrate present in Rome and were assisted by the Vestal Virgins. Very little is known about the ceremony\, but the worship seems to have been agricultural in origin. Bona Dea is usually depicted sitting on a throne\, holding a cornucopia. The snake is her attribute\, a symbol of healing\, and consecrated snakes were kept in her temple at Rome\, indicating her phallic nature. Her image frequently occurred on ancient Roman coins. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Bona Dea URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1082 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061205 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061206 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:c0vUijsDtP4KXsI4mLH4N4RtbdGb CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:December 5 –\; Faunalia in honour of Faunus pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Faunalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1083 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061211 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061212 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:6wmgWHMOA3rJ8a0tHoRacarBKFLP CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:In Ancient Roman religious tradition\, Agonalia\, or Agonia\, was a festival celebrated several times a year\, in honor of various divinities\, such as Janus and Agonius\, whom the Romans used to invoke upon their undertaking any business of importance. The word is derived either from Agonia\, " a victim\," or from Agonium\, "a festival." Its institution\, like that of other religious rites and ceremonies\, was attributed to Numa Pompilius. We learn from the ancient calendars that it was celebrated on the three following days: January 9\, May 21\, and December 11\; to which we should probably add March 17\, the day on which the Liberalia was celebrated\, since this festival is also called Agonia or Agonium Martiale. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Agonalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1084 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061215 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061216 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:Wl5e7hAQUNDgvE0Fhrbb0h7EPjQI CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Consuales Ludi or Consualia is a festival which honors Consus\, the god of counsel\, and the one who protects the harvest which is in storage at the time of the festival\, which took place about the middle of Sextilis (see 21 August). According to Livy the festival honors Neptune. The harvest grains were stored in underground vaults\, and the temple of Consus was also underground. This shrine was covered with earth all year and was only uncovered for this one day. Mars\, as a protector of the harvest\, was also honored on this day\, as were the lares\, the household gods that individual families held sacred. During the celebration horses\, mules\, and asses were exempted from all labour\, and were led through the streets adorned with garlands and flowers. Chariot races were held this day in the Circus Maximus\, which included an odd race in which chariots were pulled by mules. On this day the rape of the Sabine women took place under Romulus. Seeing a need to increase the population of Rome\, Romulus authorized each Roman to forcibly take women from the visiting Sabines as their wives\, but only as appropriate to their social status. A war to avenge this insult was avoided when the kidnapped Sabine women intervened and voluntarily accepted their Roman husbands\, who had been careful to treat them honorably. Some say\, however\, that Romulus only regulated and re-instituted them after they had been before established by Evander. There were also sacrifices to Consus on 7 July and 15 December. Consus' feasts were followed by those of the related goddess Ops: the Opiconsivia on 25 August and the Opalia on 19 December. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Consualia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1085 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061217 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061218 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:SdevDgiQyroCddg9EKicVS5yKezy CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Saturnalia is the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn\, which took place on 17 December. Over the years\, it expanded to a whole week\, up to 23 December. The Saturnalia was a large and important public festival in Rome. It involved the conventional sacrifices\, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately. The celebrations included a school holiday\, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia) and a special market (sigillaria). Gambling was allowed for all\, even slaves\; however\, although it was officially condoned only during this period\, one should not assume that it was rare or much remarked upon during the rest of the year. It was a time to eat\, drink\, and be merry. The toga was not worn\, but rather the synthesis\, i.e. colorful\, informal "dinner clothes"\; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment\, and treated their masters with disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before\, with\, or served by the masters. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals which led to more tomfoolery\, marked chiefly by having masters and slaves ostensibly switch places. The banquet\, for example\, would often be prepared by the slaves\, and they would prepare their masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries\; it reversed the social order without subverting it. The customary greeting for the occasion is a "io\, Saturnalia!" —\; io (pronounced "yo") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho\, praise to Saturn"). pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Saturnalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1086 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061218 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061219 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:zblEi4HumZnWi6SGkPPTvPjeGFDE CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:http:"en.wikipedia.org"wiki"Roman_festivals pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Eponalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1087 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061219 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061220 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:7ThNbRIpUFFgOGsf8jF5SC7yfMHL CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:On August 25\, the Opiconsivia (or Opeconsiva or Opalia) Roman festival was held in honor of Ops. Opiconsivia was also a surname of Ops herself. And this name was also given to December 19\, on which day the Opalia were celebrated\, also in her honor (some mention also August 10 and December 9). The Latin word consivia (or consiva) derives from conserere ("to sow"). Hence\, the word Opiconsivia may be interpreted as meaning "the sowing of crops"\, since Ops ultimately means "crops" in the sense of "riches\, goods". This word is also related to Consus\, the male counterpart of Ops as "the seeder". Both Ops and Consus were deemed chthonic (underworld) deities which made the vegetation grow. Since her abode was inside the earth\, Ops was invoked by her worshippers while sitting\, with their hands touching the ground\, according to Macrobius (Saturnalia\, I:10). Consus seems to be an alias of Saturn in the chthonic aspect\, since he is also held to be the husband of Ops. Ops\, the Earth Mother\, was also considered the Great Mother of the Gods. As such\, Ops is an alias of Rhea\, Cybele\, Demeter\, and so on\, impersonating the earth as the giver of riches. The festival of Consus\, the Consualia\, was celebrated twice a year: once on August 21\, after the harvest\, and once on December 15\, after the sowing of crops was finished. The Consualia was instituted by Romulus\, and commemorated the rape (and insemination) of the Sabine women by the Romans. The festival was superintended by the Flamines of Quirinus (Mars)\, helped by the Vestals. The main priestess at the regia wore a white veil. A chariot race was performed in the Circus Maximus\, under the direction of the pontifices. Horses and mules\, their heads crowned with chaplets made of flowers\, also partook in the celebration. Consus was eventually identified with Neptunus Equester\, the alias and counterpart of Poseidon Hippios. Poseidon (Neptune) had been associated with the animal since archaic times. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Opalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1088 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061221 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061222 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:MznU3OQKo7lrczgH4zq57Ot0ZtKZ CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Divalia was a Roman festival held on December 21\, in honour of the goddess Angerona\, whence it is also called Angeronalia. On the day of this festival the pontifices performed sacrifices in the temple of Voluptia\, or the goddess of joy and pleasure\, who\, some say\, was the same with Angerona\, and supposed to drive away all the sorrow and chagrin of life. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Divalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1089 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061223 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061224 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:ZxDYR5mrNJMgN1TT7OaBxtfISQmv CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on December 23\, but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus\; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares\, a kind of domestic genii\, or divinities\, worshipped in houses\, and esteemed the guardians and protectors of families\, supposed to reside in chimney-corners. Others have attributed this feast in honour of Acca Larentia\, the nurse of Romulus and Remus\, and wife of Faustulus. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Larentalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1090 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061225 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061226 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:gRBKEBavgZHljNfXhxXpGQqzlEEv CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:December 25 - Dies Natalis Invicti Solis (Festival of the invincible sun God) see Sol Invictus http:"en.wikipedia.org"wiki"Sol_Invictus Sol Invictus ("the undefeated Sun") or\, more fully\, Deus Sol Invictus ("the undefeated sun god") was a religious title applied to at least three distinct divinities during the later Roman Empire: El Gabal\, Mithras\, and Sol. Unlike the earlier\, agrarian cult of Sol Indiges ("the native sun" or "the invoked sun" - the etymology and meaning of the word "indiges" is disputed)\, the title Deus Sol Invictus was formed by analogy with the imperial titulature pius felix invictus ("dutiful\, fortunate\, unconquered"). A festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) was celebrated when the duration of daylight first begins to increase after the winter solstice\, —\; the "rebirth" of the sun. The Sol Invictus festival ran from December 22 through December 25. Eradicating the remnants of this much-celebrated pagan holiday is likely the reason why Christmas was picked by the early Catholic leaders as the birthday of Jesus Christ. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Dies Natalis Invicti Solis URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=1091 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=12 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20061225 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20061226 DTSTAMP:20061025T215232Z UID:mdX00N0mcik4l9WjFlVPQXLS97mD CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Brumalia was an ancient Roman solstice festival honoring Bacchus\, generally held on 25 December and possibly related to the ancient Greek Lenaia (held in honour of Dionysus). The festival included drinking and merriment. The name is derived from the Latin word bruma\, meaning "shortest day" or even "winter". The Brumalia was also celebrated during the space of thirty days\, commencing on 24 November. This was instituted by Romulus\, who entertained the Senate during this time. During this feast\, prophetic indications were taken of the prospects for the remaining part of the winter. It also a festival annually held by Connecticut College. pagancalendar.co.uk STATUS:CONFIRMED SUMMARY:Brumalia URL:http://www.pagancalendar.co.uk/includes/event.php?id=7686 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR