OK, none of this valentine's day nonsense, this is what it's really about. the feast of the wolf - Lupercalia.
Info here.
'The young men laughed and girded themselves in the skin of the sacrificed goat. Much feasting followed. Finally, using strips of the goat skin, the young men ran, each leading a group of priests, around the base of the hills of Rome, around the ancient sacred boundary of the old city called the pomarium. During this run, the women of the city would vie for the opportunity to be scourged by the young men as they ran by, some baring their flesh to get the best results of the fertility blessing (you can see why the Christian church tried so hard to get this ritual banned, but it was so popular that it continued for quite some time under the new regime.)'
Sounds like a fun idea to me.
Me too! I wish they'd bring it back. But, saying that, I have no interest in fertility.. ;-)
ReplyDeleteOn your recommendation, we have been watching Spartacus Blood & Sand, and loving it.. Lots of bare muscular flesh, sex and violence, just like it would have been. :D
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