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Ancient Roman Festivals Posted by on Oct 9, 2009 in Latin Language

October fourth is the leiunium Cereris or the Feast of Ceres. Ceres is the goddess of plants and motherly love. She is depicted in ancient Roman art with a scepter, basket of flowers and corn ears. The Romans adopted Ceres after a particularly severe famine in 496 B.C. A temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was dedicated to Ceres. On the Feast of Ceres, women fasted and offered the first harvest as temple offerings to Ceres.

October sixth is the day of bad omens and the anniversay of the Battle of Arausio. The Battle of Arausio was a battle that made the Romans realize that military reform was needed to balance the string of defeats faced by the Romans. The commanders of the Battle of Arausio was the proconsul Caepio and the consul Maximus. The two commanders did not get along with each other and split parties. The Cimbri tribe was able to annihilate the Roman legions, which caused a terrible humiliation to the people of Rome. As a result the defeat of Rome on the sixth of October was considered a day of bad luck.

October eleventh is the festival of Meditrinalia. Meditrina was the Roman goddess of wine. The month of October produced new vintage. Meditrinalia was a feast in honor of wine and drink.

October thirteenth was the feast of Fontus. Fons was the god of wells and springs. Fontus was the son of Juturna and Janus. Juturna was the goddess of fountains, wells and springs.

October fifteenth was the Equirria. Horse races were held in which the winning horse was sacrificed to Mars, the god of war. The head and tail were dismembered from the body of the horse. The head and tail were taken to the regia, which was a site in the Roman Forum.

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