The only Roman love story with a happy ending...

Perhaps the Roman gods do not only bring strife and trouble to us mortals

Check out below the story of Baucis and Philemon


http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Baucis_and_Philemon_(Wikisource)

The Roman origins of Romeo and Juliet

Who can think about Valentine's Day without thinking about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?
Well, did you know that Romeo and Juliet was actually based on the Roman myth of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Click here for the Roman Myth as told by Ovid:
in Latin: http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ovid/ovid.met4.shtml
in English: http://david-drake.com/ovid-translations/metamorphoses-pyramus-and-thisbe/

How do we know that Shakespeare actually knew about the Pyramus and Thisbe story? In "A Midsummer Night's Dream', Shakespeare uses the story of Pyramus and Thisbe for his famous play within a play scene.

Check out this hilarious rendition of that scene by the Beatles ( and remember in Shakespearean time, as in Roman, women could not be actors so all parts were played by men)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhP6qVZ9Vxo

The History of Valentine's Day

To understand how we got to the Modern Valentine's Day from the ancient Roman Lupercalia check out this history channel video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs6xesanxNM

After viewing please think about (or comment) on these questions:

1) Why would the Christians want to Christianize a pagan holiday?
2) Why do you think St. Valentinus was martyred and/or made a saint?
3) What connections does the Modern Valentine's Day have to either or these traditions?

Lupercalia

Lupercalia was an ancient Italian fertility festival that took place each year on the Ides of February (the 13th or 15th depending). By the time that the Romans began keeping written records, not much was remembered about the actual origins of the holiday. Most of our sources about the Lupercalia are from upper class Romans (Cicero) who found the rituals outdated and obscene or by Christian authors trying to debase pagan traditions.

 The Lupercalia began with a sacrifice of a goat and a dog by the Lupercali (Priests who served the god Lupercus), at the Lupercal ( the supposed cave where Romulus and Remus were nursed by the she-wolf). **Lupus is the Latin word for wolf**. Then the blood from the sacrifice was smeared over two Roman Patrician young men, who were stripped naked except for a loin cloth. These two honorary Lupercali as they were called, were given strips of leather which they used as whips to strike women and girls of a child-bearing age. The women and girls lined up for the 'beating' because they believed that to be struck by the februa (the leather whips) ensured fertility in the upcoming year.

By the late republic and early empire, the Lupercalia had denegrated into an excuse for a wild, drunken party.

For more information check out his translation from Ovid's Fasti where he describes the festival (look under February 15th- the Lupercalia)

http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/OvidFastiBkTwo.htm#_Toc69367692

Feliciem diem Santi Valentini!

Looking for some Latin to spice up your Valentine Cards?
Check out these sites to get some ideas:

A translation of Taylor Swift's Love Story lyrics into Latin!
http://eclassics.ning.com/forum/topics/taylor-swifts-love-story-in

Some Latin sayings about love
http://www.thebookmarkshop.com/latin/latinromantic.htm

Salvete!

Welcome to the Valentine's Day, Lupercalia and Love in ancient Rome Blog,

This is a place to learn about and discuss the ancient Roman fertility festival, the origins of St. Valentine's Day, and the concept of love and marriage in the Roman world.

Please take a look around and feel free to add any comments/questions/concerns to the blog.