LUPERCALIA, a very ancient Roman festival. Its rites were under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci (possibly "wolf-averters," lupus+arceo: so Vani'eek), whose institution is attributed either to Evander or to Romulus and Remus. But the festival itself, which was held on Feb. 15 con tains no reference to these late fictions. It began with the sacrifice by the Luperci (or the flamen Dialis) of goats and a dog; after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife, and the blood wiped off with wool dipped in milk ; then the ritual required that the two young men should laugh.
The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the victims and ran in two bands round the walls of the old Palatine city. A blow from the thong cured sterility in women. The celebration of the festival went on until A.D. 494, when it was changed by Gelasius into the feast of the Purification. The Luperci were divided into two colleges, called Quinctiliani (or Quinctiales) and Fabiani, from the gens Quinc tilia (or Quinctia) and Fabia; at the head of each of these col leges was a magister. In 44 B.C. a third college, Luperci Iulii, was
instituted in honour of Julius Caesar, the first magister of which was Mark Antony. In imperial times the members were usually of equestrian standing.
So far, no really convincing explanation of the ceremonies has been put forward. The ritual is apparently in honour of no god; Lupercus, whom our authorities sometimes name, seems a mere invention, Faunus is a guess of the moderns. Two elements may be distinguished : (I) The Luperci trace a magic circle around the old settlement to keep off harm (from wolves) ; (2) They are called creppi, he-goats, and "doctored" to fill them with good magic. They thus are charged with and can convey fertility. But much remains obscure.
See W. Warde Fowler, Roman Festivals (1899), p. 390 et seq.