Lupercalia: From Juno to Feronia
The Proto-Indo-European significance of the ritual
We will start our journey here with the Lupercalia and the connections to an ancient Warrior band known as the Koryos. Before diving deeper into the more obscure figure of Feronia and her connections to Proto-Indo-European Mythology.
Lupercalia and Its Origins
When it comes to the Lupercalia, some people think of it being the ancient origins of Valentine's Day. Though there is much more to the Lupercalia then meets the eye. In this video we will do a deep dive into the fascinating archaic history of this ritualistic practice. Tracing it back to it's original roots.
The Lupercal, named after the Latin word "lupa" meaning female wolf, was a cave situated at the southwest base of Rome's Palatine Hill. According to the legendary founding tale of Rome, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus were discovered in the cave and nursed by a she-wolf until the shepherd Faustulus rescued them. The Luperci, priests of the rustic god Faunus, performed rituals associated with the Lupercalia festival at the cave, a tradition that persisted from the early days of the City until at least 494 AD. The Roman Senate considered the Lupercalia crucial for the safety and well-being of Rome.
In the ancient Roman religious and mythological context, Faunus was revered as the god of the forest, plains, and fields, and when he bestowed fertility upon cattle, he was known as Inuus. The name Faunus is linked to the Latin term "lupus" ('wolf'), reflecting the fact that the Luperci, often regarded as temporary priests of Faunus, were known as "wolf-men."
The term Lupercalia was thought to be connected to the Ancient Greek festival of the Arcadian Lykaia, a celebration associated with wolves. While the festival's name likely stems from "lupus" meaning "wolf," the exact etymology and significance remain unclear. The association with wolves may be related to the symbolic role of a predatory animal in male rites of passage. The Lupercalia boasted its own priesthood, the Luperci, or "brothers of the wolf," whose establishment and rites were attributed either to the Arcadian culture-hero Evander or to the shepherd twins Romulus and Remus. The Luperci were typically young men, usually aged between 20 and 30.
Proto-Indo-European Koryos
Something that is of note here is the concept of the proto-indo-european Koryos. This is referring to bands of young warriors with a dual role, both living within and apart from society, which is also particularly relevant here. This goes back to around 3300 to 2600 BCE. So within the Neolithic. During certain periods, these groups would venture into the wilderness to hunt and raid other communities, while in the remaining time, they were tasked with defending their own society. They were guided by a senior male and lived off the country by hunting and engaging in raiding and pillaging foreign communities. A defining aspect of these young men's communities was the initiation ritual, which involved living outside the norms of society, often in stark contrast to its values.
The kóryos were composed of adolescent males (presumably from 12–13 up to 18–19 years of age), usually coming from prominent families and initiated together into manhood as an age-class cohort. After undergoing painful trials to enter the group, they were sent away to live as landless warriors in the wild for up to 9 years, within a group ranging from two to twelve members. The young males went without possession other than their weapons, living on the edges of their host society. The Koryos were seen as being closely connected to the gods, especially thunder gods, and were believed to possess supernatural powers and abilities.
Additionally, these warrior bands were closely tied to specific animals, particularly dogs and wolves. Wolves and dogs were regarded as mystical symbols representing death, lawlessness, promiscuity, and the fury of warriors. The association with these animals signified a state of liminality between invulnerability and death, as well as between youth and adulthood. The Koryos also having been linked to dog and cattle sacrifice as well, which has been strongly established in the field. You have for instance the Krasnosamarskoe mid-winter dog sacrifices. Connected to the winter solstice.
A death and rebirth ritual connected to the ancestors and purification also took place in the Koryos ritual as well. Which was linked to the return of the Koryos warrior band into the community, in which the young men either dress up as their ancestors, or have otherwise a connection to both their ancestors and the underworld after roaming through the village, where they become, through this final ritual after the Koryos period ended part of the tribe and eligible for marriage.
Lupercalia Rituals and Juno Lucina
Coming now back to Ancient Rome. Lupercalia, also known as Lupercal, was an ancient pastoral festival in Rome, observed annually to purify the city and promote health and fertility. In the Roman calendar, February marked a month of universal purification and the beginning of the new year. On February 15, the Lupercalia festival took place, involving Juno as Juno Lucina, associated with purification and fertility. Juno Lucina, wife of the Thunder god Jupiter, was a multifaceted deity, embodying sovereignty, martial prowess, and fertility. A temple dedicated to Juno Lucina was erected in 375 BC in the sacred grove dedicated to the goddess from ancient times.
The Lupercalia was intricately linked to Juno Lucina and conducted by wolf priests. In this ritual, the wolf-priests, symbolizing ancestors, performed purification rites that connected the community with the Underworld. The Lupercal cave served as a passage to the Underworld, and the luperci emerged from and returned to it during the ritual. Symbolically, the Luperci journeyed from and back to the Underworld, guided by Juno, who played a crucial role in rejuvenating and guiding them through the purification ritual. From a Jungian perspective, Juno can be seen as the Anima, mediating the unconscious and facilitating a symbolic rebirth and revitalization of the individual.
At the Lupercal altar, a male goat (or goats) and a dog were sacrificed by one of the Luperci, supervised by the Flamen dialis, Jupiter's chief priest. Salted mealcakes, prepared by the Vestal Virgins, were also offered. Following the blood sacrifice, two Luperci approached the altar, their foreheads anointed with blood and then cleansed with wool soaked in milk, the ritual required that the two young men laugh. The sacrificial feast ensued, feasting on the meat, after which the Luperci cut thongs (februa) from the flayed animal skin and ran, naked or nearly so, along the old Palatine boundary in an anticlockwise direction. This fertility rite involved the goatskin-clad Luperci striking women who sought to conceive.
Hirpi Sorani and Feronia
The ancient Hirpi Sorani cult, translating to "wolves of Soranus" from Sabine hirpus meaning "wolf," held its rituals on Mt. Soracte, located 45 km north of Rome. This cult shared similarities with the Roman Lupercalia, although some say it derived from this more archaic cult it is also possible that the Lupercalia did not directly derive from the Hirpi Sorani but rather shared a common ancestry in the koryos rituals. Much like the Hirpi Sorani, the priests participating in the Lupercalia belonged to specific families. These priests were organized into two collegia, the Fabiani and the Quinctiliani, named after the prominent Patrician families of Fabii and Quintilii. In the Lupercalia, akin to the practices of the Hirpi Sorani, the wolf-priests, symbolizing ancestors, played a role in purifying the community by establishing a connection with the Underworld. The act of purification involved rituals and rites carried out by these priests, echoing the ancient traditions that linked both the Lupercalia and the Hirpi Sorani to a shared cultural and religious heritage.
This cult is connected to Feronia a more obscure figure, believed to have originated from the Sabine culture. Feronia holds sway over various domains, serving as a deity associated with the underworld, wilderness, fertility, springs, water, nature's vital forces, health, and abundance. Feronia was a Triune Goddess (mother, virgin and elderly woman) associated with the three worlds (earth, underworld and sky). Notably, an archaic cult recognized her as Juno the Virgin, where she was paired with a young Jupiter, according to Servius. Predating Roman Juno. Both linked to a thunder god. The sacred significance of woods and springs further emphasized her influence, and as a harvest goddess, Feronia received reverence through offerings of the wild fruits that are harvested.
Feronia also played a crucial role in conferring civil rights upon the people of her tribe and protecting the outcasts, establishing her as a sovereign within her designated realms. This giving of rights also then made her a figure that guided both outcasts, those living in the wilderness and later also freedmen, back into society and thus part of the tribe.
Varro identified Feronia with Libertas, the goddess who personified Liberty. The name Lībertās ('freedom') is a derivation from Latin Līber ('free'), stemming from Proto-Indo-European word meaning ('belonging to the people'). Libertas was associated with the phrygian cap. Among the Romans the cap of felt was the emblem of liberty. The goddess Libertas is also depicted as Lady Liberty and also was depicted within France during the French Revolution. Symbolizing within these more modern times, liberty, equality, fraternity and reason. Something that coincidentaly makes sense regarding Feronia's symbolism and her Koryos connection. It is then also very interesting that as much as Feronia welcomed people into the tribe, that Lady Liberty is what people saw when entering the United States. This echoes the role of Feronia in guiding outcasts and integrating them into the tribe.
Juno was also associated with the Curitis, and thus also with Quirinus, and the admission into the curia (assembly of the tribe). A function Feronia also played. This return was not just a physical reintegration but a psychological and spiritual one. It marked a transition from a liminal state to being fully recognized and accepted within the tribe. From a Jungian lens her role in conferring civil rights and guiding outcasts back into society can be seen as a psychological metaphor for the integration of marginalized aspects of the psyche.
Connection to Proto-Indo-European Mythology
Feronia also had a son Erulus who has as his Greek counterpart Geryon. Both of which who had a triple body and a triple soul. Geryon having one body and three heads. Being a reflex of the three headed serpent stealing the cattle. Where Heracles, who by scholars is seen as Trito, retrieves the cattle of Geryon. Echoing the Trito myth and the three headed serpent slaying myth. Juno's cult also included the annual feeding of a sacred snake with barley cakes by virgin maidens. The snake dwelt in a deep cave within the precinct of the temple. Connecting Feronia like Juno not only to serpents, but in this case also to the Trito myth. Something that Apollo also is connected to with the slaying of the serpent. This is something I go deeper into within my upcoming book Alchemy of the Psyche. Where I do a much deeper dive into the Proto-Indo-European Sovereignty Goddess, wife of the thunder god, linked to figures such as Feronia, the Morrigan and Hulda. These figures all having both a connection to cattle and the Koryos. Next to a connection to stealing of cattle, often a serpent being involved.
When it now comes to Trito himself. Trito is a reconstructed proto-indo-european figure who embodies the heroic ideals of courage, strength, and the pursuit of cosmic balance. As Manu had sacrificed Yemo to the Sky father, the gods showed their approval by giving cattle to Trito. After Manu had taught humanity the sacred art of sacrifice, the people, in their shortsightedness, neglected this divine practice. The Sovereignty Goddess, witnessed this transgression with sorrowful eyes. In response, she invoked the ancient serpent, a creature intimately tied to her. The serpent slithered through the cosmic realms, stealthily approaching the pastures where the sacred Cattle grazed. In a swift and covert move, the serpent stole the Cattle, spiriting them away from the mortal realm. The once-lush pastures now lay barren, a testament to the consequences of neglecting the sacred bond between gods and mortals. This snake is typically depicted as a powerful adversary symbolizing chaos, danger, or malevolence. Despite an initial setback, Trito gains strength from an intoxicating drink and receives assistance from the Storm-God. Together, they venture into a cave or mountain, where the hero triumphs over the monstrous serpent and returns the recovered cattle to a priest for proper sacrifice dedicated to the Storm-God. Re-affirming the connection to the gods, and bringing back order to the cosmos.
We also know that Juno and Feronia are both connected to cattle. Juno receiving cattle as sacrifice. This kind of mythological link can then also further be seen by the run into the cave with the Lupercali, and the ritual at Mount Soracte we will go into later. Romulus and Quirinus being in the older sense Manu, where Remos the twin brother who is sacrificed is Yemo.
When it comes to this myth, it starts with Manu and his giant twin Yemo, and a primordial cow who are born from the primordial state of the universe. In their quest to create the world, Manu performs a solemn sacrifice, offering his brother's life, while assisted by heavenly deities like the Sky-Father, the Storm-God, and the Divine Twins. From Yemo's remains, both the natural elements and human beings are forged. Manu cuts Yemo’s body into pieces, and from these he created the world, the sun, the moon, the ocean and stars. Manu's act of sacrifice establishes him as the first priest, laying the foundation for the world order, and teaching people how to sacrifice.
This act of sacrifice is then also echoed in both the Lupercalia and on Mount Soracte. Though there are discrepancies between European and Indo-Iranian versions, it is believed that the primeval cow was likely sacrificed in the original myth, giving birth to other animals and vegetables. Yemo's destiny may have led him to become the King of the Otherworld, the realm of the deceased, being the first mortal to perish in the primordial sacrifice. Though with Thor we can see that instead of a cow or cattle instead goats where sacrificed.
The act of sacrificial practices involve offerings, often of animals, to divine beings or spirits in religious rituals. In ancient cultures, these rituals played a significant role in establishing connections between humans and the divine. In the case of the Proto-Indo-Europeans the cow and cattle playing an important role. Looking at the significance of this myth within the proto-Indo-European context, the statement made by the Roman Senate that the Lupercalia was essential to Rome's safety and well-being, is getting an even deeper significance. Where Romulus and Remos are intimately tied to the creation of Rome.
Within part two of the article called “Apollo of Mount Soranus and Feronia” we will go deeper into the specific rites connected to Feronia and her cult on mount Soracte, linked to the wolf cult of Apollo. Till then, I want to wish you as reader a wonderful time, and a lovely day!