ANCIENT ROMAN VALENTINE'S DAY - Goat Sacrifices and Whips! Lupercalia Festival

Before there were Valentine's Day chocolates and roses, there were ancient Roman goat sacrifices and naked men running around with whips! Let's learn about the Lupercalia and how it relates to this Hallmark Holiday.
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What's the history of Valentine's Day? Does Valentine's Day have a pagan origin?
Lupercalia is one of the most ancient Roman festivals which was held every year between the 13th and 15th of February. It was a pastoral festival observed to purify the city and promote health and fertility. The Lupercalia may be the longest-lasting of the Roman pagan festivals, with it possibly starting at the time of the founding of Rome (traditionally 753 B.C.) or even before and ending about 1200 years later, at the end of the 5th century A.D., at least in the West, although it continued in the East for another few centuries.
The festival itself may actually be a more ancient import, coming from Greek Arcadia and honouring Lycaean Pan, which is the equivalent to the Roman Inuus or Faunus. Lycaean is a word connected with the Greek for 'wolf' as seen in the term lycanthropy for 'werewolf'…. So there may be a possible connection here. There’s also the Roman writer Justin who describes a cult image of the “Lycean God, who the Greeks call Pan and the Romans Lupercus”, as nude except for a goatskin girdle… bold fashion choice, I love it. But… despite Justin’s writing, no deity named Lupercus has ever been identified, so that’s a fun little mystery.
SOURCES
• Green, William M. (January 1931). "The Lupercalia in the Fifth Century". Classical Philology. 26 (1): 60-69. doi:10.1086/361308. S2CID 161431650. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
• "Caesar at the Lupercalia," by J. A. North; The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 98 (2008), pp. 144-160.
• "An Enigmatic Function of the Flamen Dialis (Ovid, Fast., 2.282) and the Augustan Reform," by A. W. J. Holleman. Numen, Vol. 20, Fasc. 3. (Dec., 1973), pp. 222-228.
• "The God of the Lupercal," by T. P. Wiseman. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 85. (1995), pp. 1-22.
• "Postscript to the Lupercalia: From Caesar to Andromachus," by J. A. North and Neil McLynn; The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 98 (2008), pp. 176-181.
• "Some Notes on the Lupercalia," by E. Sachs. The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 84, No. 3. (Jul., 1963), pp. 266-279.
• "The Topography and Interpretation of the Lupercalia," by Agnes Kirsopp Michels. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 84. (1953), pp. 35-59.
• "The Lupercalia in the Fifth Century," by William M. Green. Classical Philology, Vol. 26, No. 1. (Jan., 1931), pp. 60-69
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[@RedKrieg]

You have such a knack for sharing interesting history! This is the first I've heard of the "origin story" for Valentine's Day.

[@siddharthabanerjee6155]

People back then were not so different from people today, after all. And thanks for being back after a long time, I almost thought you had quit your channel!

[@abigailg6586]

Raven: but I’ll skip that because you’re here for the sexy stuff Me, an asexual who’s actually interested in the etymology: dang it!!!

[@DigItWithRaven]

😂😂 damnit!!

[@P2J2]

Sounds like a fun party, thanks for sharing!

[@melissawall5921]

So interesting! I didn't know about this before. Whip it good! 😂 Thank you! (And your sweater is gorgeous!)

[@jerrycratsenberg989]

Well, finding a fresh and bloody goat or sheep skin does present a problem, but I won't let my imagination wonder to far. Sorry, it's too late. Regardless, it is good to see you back here sharing Valentine's day and your extensive knowledge of arcane esoteric events and broadening our scope of the past and how it relates to the present. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

[@Jay-n262]

Tammuz wasn't as kind as many would think. His arrows would make you fall insanely in love. He would then get his kicks watching the relationships crumble. He also shot his mother the earth goddess with his arrow and she became his wife

[@MM-pl5ed]

we are loving this channel ☕

[@heyhabib]

Joy to watch and learn. I hope I'm okay to pass this link on to a website no more than twenty people visit per day.

[@arifal-yousif]

Happy Lupercalia, Raven!

[@canuckled]

Thanks now I have Devo stuck in my head

[@DigItWithRaven]

Omg why didn’t I think of putting that in there!

[@arifal-yousif]

Same haahahahaha

[@mukhtar__]

50 Shades of Valentine 😂

[@matthewmann8969]

Yeah bring in the candy, chocolate, hearts, and cards

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

Nice to see that this video has a hard stance against kink shaming!

[@taylorleeforcongress8470]

Some kinks should be shamed (pedophilia, beastiality anyone).

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@taylorleeforcongress8470 Those are the obvious exceptions

[@M.M.83-U]

Much love to you. And chocolate hearts.

[@jadehendon3993]

Love the video but to help you out in the future Samhain is pronounce sow-in, sow like a female pig and in like inlaw. Hope this helps and you keep making good content like this.

[@leslievelagonzalez9864]

Can you make an episode about witchtrials? It would be so interesting

[@jrodriguez1374]

Oh my gosh, it's already been a year since the contraception video!? 🤧

[@DigItWithRaven]

Right!? 2021 flew by

[@treckerdirector7]

These damn pervy romans... lol Great vid though! :)

[@Jelperman]

Love your new hairdo! 😉

[@johnnyphoenix1223]

' seen something on Facebook today talking about “”The Anunnaki Scrambled Bread' is a Sumerian-Babylonian dish that is about 6000 years old! Iraqis still prepare it to this day “” though of you when I seen it is this something you would create

[@kavikv.d.hexenholtz3474]

Valentine’s Day alleged origins in the Roman Lupercalia. Specifically, that Lupercalia was Christianized by Pope Gelasius I into Valentine’s Day lies predominantly in the realm of wishful thinking. The earliest historical record of Lupercalia is from the 3rd century BCE, while the last record is from the end of the 5th century CE - around the same time Pope Gelasius I made February 14 into a day that would honor the Christian martyr Saint Valentine (Lupercalia, by the way, took place on the 15th). At no point however does Gelasius speak of compromise or of adapting any pagan customs. In the early church, this would have been a solemn celebration; not the holiday it is today. Indeed, it is quite possible that Gelasius was partly responsible for Lupercalia’s decline. One presumed aspect of the festival is the idea that there would have been a matchmaking lottery associated with Lupercalia, a supposition that is often cited as further evidence of the connection between the ancient festival and Valentine’s Day. But there are no historical records attesting to men being paired randomly with women for participation in the ritual. Indeed, popular legends that Lupercalia featured girls writing their names on paper that would be drawn from a box by boys seem to be an 18th-century invention/addition to the assumed practices of this festival. Even though they weren’t far apart chronologically, the supposed symbolic overlap between the two took centuries more to develop, as Valentine’s Day hadn’t yet acquired the romantic meaning it has today. Valentine’s Day, as a celebration of love and fertility, dates from the 14th century CE leaving a huge gap between the two. Some pagan holidays/celebrations were co-opted by the Church, but this doesn’t appear to have been one of those cases. Though there is calendar overlap (sort of), there’s no indication that one was replaced by another. It is vitally important when writing about traditions to remember that there are only 365 days in the year ... overlap does not equate to significance. Most mainstream historians assert that Valentine’s Day and romance became associated with each other only in the late 14th century, and specifically because of the popularity of a few Geoffrey Chaucer (of 'Canterbury Tales' fame) poems called "Parliament of Foules" and “The Complaint of Mars” which both associated Valentine’s Day and romance. At the time of Chaucer's writing, mid-February was also considered to be the start of Spring in Britain, because it was the beginning of birds' mating season-perfectly appropriate for a celebration of affection. In addition, this was also the time when a concept known as “courtly love” was in its heyday. Valentine’s Day's alleged association with Lupercalia (i.e., that it has a supposed pagan origin) does not appear to hold much validity, yet some people just can’t seem to let go of this false connection.

[@Davlavi]

interesting

[@TheNerubin]

I am kind of wondering if Lupercalia has a connection to Krampus runs, with all the man running around in goat skin. They happen about 3 month from one another but still... And i believe the Krampusses also whip people, bad behaved children with branches in this case.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Sex, sacrifice and whips. Sounds like a good party to me. LOL!!!!!

[@douglasboyle6544]

It's all the sexy bits depending upon how you feel about history

[@themetalgardener4960]

The generally accepted ideology on this one is that it's an exception and actually a coincidence.

[@ManiofLight]

Minute 1:28 - you missed an eggplant!

[@RiccardoConturbia]

You have been what? 😰 (4:30)

[@jrodriguez1374]

Sex is cool and all but knowing the etymology of February is important too!!

[@ionfyr1781]

As always I'm not positive, but isn't "luperca" a euphamism for prostitute? I read that somewhere and it doesn't appear to have been mentioned. Also--again not positive--I've always heard "samhain" pronounced "sa-win" by people who are into that.

[@classicslover]

Ha! THIS is why archaeologists should NOT create Valentine's Day cards. Raven! I thought you were mad at me. We haven't heard from you since last year. ;) So...is this REALLY about ancient Rome? Or were you reporting your observations from attending university in (cough) Ontario.

[@taylorleeforcongress8470]

Imagine celebrating a fertility holiday with birth control. Pathetic.

[@Qu0thTheRaven]

boo how dare "they" stop lupercalia

[@myfootballjesus]

When are you going to have kids? Then you can teach them ? That husband needs to do his job your not getting any younger it only get harder when you older!!