Roman festival of Lupercalia.
Feb. 15th, 2005 01:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randomnessFrom http://londonpicaresque.blogspot.com/2005/02/palatine-hill.html (from my friend Katherine's blog, syndicated as ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
london_kate:
"Way back when, 15 February was celebrated in honor of either Lupercus, Rumina, Inuus or Faunus. Never the sort to let spiritual ambiguities stand in the way of a good streaking festival, the Romans involved two young noblemen being stripped naked on the Palatine Hill, rubbed down with scented oils, and sent running through the streets of Rome with sticks and goatskin lashes, smacking whomever they came across. And if one of their lash-ees happened to be a nubile young lady? It was supposed to INCREASE HER FERTILITY."
london_kate:"Way back when, 15 February was celebrated in honor of either Lupercus, Rumina, Inuus or Faunus. Never the sort to let spiritual ambiguities stand in the way of a good streaking festival, the Romans involved two young noblemen being stripped naked on the Palatine Hill, rubbed down with scented oils, and sent running through the streets of Rome with sticks and goatskin lashes, smacking whomever they came across. And if one of their lash-ees happened to be a nubile young lady? It was supposed to INCREASE HER FERTILITY."