Parilia

The Parilia or Palilia was an

ancient Roman festival of rural character performed annually on 21 April, aimed at cleansing both sheep and shepherd. It was carried out in acknowledgment to the Roman deity Pales, a deity of uncertain gender who was a patron of shepherds and sheep.^[1]

Latin: dies natalis

Romae or natalis Urbis).

History

By the end of the late Republic, the Parilia became associated with the birthday of Rome.

Remus, unaware of the boundaries, crossed the line and was struck down by Romulus's henchman Celer.^[3]

Over time, and under the influence of several Roman rulers, the structure of the Parilia changed. First, after Julius Caesar heard the news of Roman Victory at Munda in 45 BC (around the date of the Parilia), he added games to the ceremony. At these games, the citizens would wear crowns in Caesar’s honor. Caligula instituted into the celebration a procession of priests, noblemen, boys and girls of noble birth singing of his virtues while escorting the Golden Shield, previously bestowed upon him by the citizens of Rome, to the Capitol.^{[citation needed]} At this time the Parilia became Rome's birthday celebration rather than the rural festival it had once been.^{[citation needed]} In 121 AD, Hadrian founded a new temple of Venus and Roma and changed the festival’s name to the Romaea. This temple was ruined in the 9th century.^[1]^[4]

Ceremony

The pastoral structure of the festival is carried out by the shepherd himself. After the sheep pen had been decorated with green branches and a wreath draped on the gate, the remainder of the ceremony took place in sequence. At the first sign of daylight, the shepherd would purify the sheep: by sweeping the pen and then constructing a bonfire of straw, olive branches,

sapa (boiled wine). After consumption of this beverage, the shepherd would leap through the fire three times, bringing an end to the ceremony.^[6]

The urban form of the Parilia, on the other hand, is blended with other Roman religious practices and carried out by a priest. Ovid personally participated in this form and describes his experiences in the Fasti.

Dumézil questioned whether the Equus October provided the horse blood,^[8] since the two ancient sources that mention the ingredient omit identifying the victim.^[9]

Notes

^ ^a ^b The Cambridge Ancient History 2nd Ed. Vol. X: The Augustan Empire 43 BC – AD 69. Cambridge University Press. Great Britain: 1996. pp. 816-817
^ Kearns, Emily. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 2003. pp. 406.
^ ^a ^b Ovid. Fasti; Gower, John. Ovids Festivalls, or Romane calendar, translated into English verse equinumerally. London: 1640. pp. 93-97.
^ Charles River Editors (2013-02-14). Caligula & Nero: Rome’s Worst Emperors (Kindle Locations 715-716). Charles River Editors. Kindle Edition.
^ ^a ^b Fowler, Warde W. The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. MacMillan and CO, Limited. London: 1899. pp. 79-85.
^ Butrica, James L. Propertius on the Parilia (4.4.73-8). Classical Quarterly 50.2. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Great Britain: 2000. pp. 472-478.
^ Adkins, Lesley & Roy A. Dictionary of Roman Religion. Facts on File Inc. New York: 1996. pp. 82, 168.
^ G. Dumezil La religion romaine archaique Paris, 1974, part 1, chap. 4 "Mars".
^ Propertius Elegiae Romanae 4, 1, 19-20 (where the horse is described as curtus, "dismembered"); Ovid Fasti IV, 721 sqq. The October Horse, however, is the only horse sacrifice known to have been practiced regularly by the Romans.

[one-1] The Cambridge Ancient History 2nd Ed. Vol. X: The Augustan Empire 43 BC – AD 69. Cambridge University Press. Great Britain: 1996. pp. 816-817

[six-2] Kearns, Emily. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 2003. pp. 406.

[four-3] Ovid. Fasti; Gower, John. Ovids Festivalls, or Romane calendar, translated into English verse equinumerally. London: 1640. pp. 93-97.

[4] Charles River Editors (2013-02-14). Caligula & Nero: Rome’s Worst Emperors (Kindle Locations 715-716). Charles River Editors. Kindle Edition.

[two-5] Fowler, Warde W. The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. MacMillan and CO, Limited. London: 1899. pp. 79-85.

[three-6] Butrica, James L. Propertius on the Parilia (4.4.73-8). Classical Quarterly 50.2. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Great Britain: 2000. pp. 472-478.

[five-7] Adkins, Lesley & Roy A. Dictionary of Roman Religion. Facts on File Inc. New York: 1996. pp. 82, 168.

[8] G. Dumezil La religion romaine archaique Paris, 1974, part 1, chap. 4 "Mars".

[9] Propertius Elegiae Romanae 4, 1, 19-20 (where the horse is described as curtus, "dismembered"); Ovid Fasti IV, 721 sqq. The October Horse, however, is the only horse sacrifice known to have been practiced regularly by the Romans.

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