Ancient Origins of Valentine's Day
Ancient Greek and Roman traditions during the month of romance
Valentine's Day and February equal love and romance. In Ancient Greece and Rome, this time of year had similar connotations, but they were celebrated VERY differently.
In modern times, the month of February and St. Velentine's Day has come to symbolize love and romance, and has been celebrated in this gentile way since the days of courtship and wooing of the Middle Ages. But the origins of February being associated with love and fertility can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome.
- In Ancient Athens, from the middle of January to the middle of February (on our calendar) was known as the month of Gamelion (actually the fifth month on the Athenian calendar). This entire month was dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera, referred to as the hieros gamos, or literally "holy or sacred marriage". Despite Zeus' constant infidelities, it seems that the Greeks nonetheless revered the union between their king god and his queen.
- In Ancient Rome, the Lupercalia was celebrated on February 15. This festival honored Faunus or Lupercus, a god of fertility and farming, and was celebrated with annual sacrifices and feasts. One of the aims of the festival was to purify the land and the young women of child-bearing age (February comes from the latin "Februare" meaning to purify). During the Lupercalia, 2 priests, called luperci, sacrificed 2 male goats and a dog at the sacred cave where Romulus and Remus were supposedly nursed by the she-wolf. After a feast, the luperci dressed in the goats' skins and ran through the city streets, whipping people (mostly young girls and women) with thongs cut from the sacrificial skins. This act was thought to purify the girls, ensure their fertility, and lessen the pain of eventual childbirth. Names were also drawn from an urn to pair up young men and women as part of the festivities. This was intended to lead to marriages and subsequent births.
On February 14, A.D. 496, the feast of St. Valentine was first declared, and the Lupercalia was outlawed as a pagan ritual.
Sources consulted:
Graves, R. The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994.
http://ancienthistory.about.com/
www.wikipedia.com
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