Amiculum Iunonis: Juno and the feast of the Lupercalia

Ionescu, Dan-Tudor (2017) Amiculum Iunonis: Juno and the feast of the Lupercalia. Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 57 (2-3). pp. 237-250. ISSN 0044-5975

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Abstract

This article focuses on the possible connections which can be established between the Roman goddess Juno as the protector deity of marriages and married women and the rites and rituals associated with the sacred feast of the Lupercalia. The role of other Italic gods associated with these sacred ceremonies is also analyzed, such as the rustic god Faunus, as well as Jupiter, Mars, and Romulus-Quirinus (albeit in secondary roles; for example, the name Luperci given to the young Roman men involved in the ritual flogging of the Roman women of fertile age is linked with lupus, the Latin name of the wolf, animal sacred to the god Mars and forever bound to the Twins Romulus and Remus, the mythical and heroic founders of Rome). The amiculum Iunonis or the garment of Juno is in fact the name given to the ritual objects used by the Luperci in the act of symbolic fecundation of the Roman young women, namely the leather thongs carved out of the skin of a sacrificed goat. The he-goat (Latin hircus) is also connected with the ancient Roman and Latin god Faunus (the Italic divine counterpart of the ancient Greek Πᾶν). As a final acknowledgment, I hereby thank Professor Attilio Mastrocinque who had the idea of this study and whose book revealed to me the hidden links between Juno, Bona Dea, and the feast of the Lupercalia, normally associated with the god of wild nature, Faunus-Pan. I owe also a debt of gratitude to the patience and unremitting help of Professor Patricia Johnston, whose observations greatly improved my conclusions.

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