Parentalia
Encyclopedia
In ancient Rome
, the Parentalia or dies parentales ("ancestral days") was a nine-day festival held in honor of family ancestors, beginning February 13.
Although the Parentalia was a holiday on the Roman religious calendar
, its observances were mainly domestic and familial. The importance of the family to the Roman state, however, was expressed by public ceremonies on the opening day, the Ides of February, when a Vestal
conducted a rite for the collective di parentes of Rome at the tomb of Tarpeia
.
Ovid describes sacred offerings (sacrificia) of flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets to the "shades of the dead" (manes
or in Festus
, di manes - "the good ones") at the family tombs of the extramural necropolis, to strengthen the mutual obligations and protective ties between the living and the dead. This was a lawful duty of the paterfamilias (head of the family). Parentalia terminated on February 21 in the midnight rites of Feralia
, when the paterfamilias addressed the malevolent, destructive aspects of his manes. Feralia was a placation and exorcism: Ovid thought it a more rustic, primitive and ancient affair than the Parentalia itself. It appears to have functioned as a cleansing ritual for Caristia
on the following day, when the family held an informal banquet to celebrate the amity between themselves and their benevolent ancestral dead (lares
). The emphasis on collective cult for the manes and early di parentes implies their afterlife as vague and lacking individuation. In later cult they are vested with personal qualities, and in the Imperial cult
, they acquire divine numen
and become the divi.
From Parentalia to Caristia
all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and "magistrates appeared without their insignia" (implying that no official business was done). William Warde Fowler
describes the Parentalia as " practically a yearly renewal of the rite of burial".
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, the Parentalia or dies parentales ("ancestral days") was a nine-day festival held in honor of family ancestors, beginning February 13.
Although the Parentalia was a holiday on the Roman religious calendar
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
, its observances were mainly domestic and familial. The importance of the family to the Roman state, however, was expressed by public ceremonies on the opening day, the Ides of February, when a Vestal
Vestal Virgin
In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
conducted a rite for the collective di parentes of Rome at the tomb of Tarpeia
Tarpeia
In Roman mythology, Tarpeia was a Roman maiden who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines in exchange for what she thought would be a reward of jewellery...
.
Ovid describes sacred offerings (sacrificia) of flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets to the "shades of the dead" (manes
Manes
In ancient Roman religion, the Manes or Di Manes are chthonic deities sometimes thought to represent the souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the Lares, Genii, and Di Penates as deities that pertained to domestic, local, and personal cult...
or in Festus
Festus (historian)
Festus was a Late Roman historian whose breviary was commissioned by the emperor Valens in preparation for war against Persia....
, di manes - "the good ones") at the family tombs of the extramural necropolis, to strengthen the mutual obligations and protective ties between the living and the dead. This was a lawful duty of the paterfamilias (head of the family). Parentalia terminated on February 21 in the midnight rites of Feralia
Feralia
Feralia was an ancient Roman public festival celebrating the Manes which fell on the 21st of February as recorded by Ovid in Book II of his Fasti. This day marked the end of Parentalia, a nine day festival honoring the dead ancestors...
, when the paterfamilias addressed the malevolent, destructive aspects of his manes. Feralia was a placation and exorcism: Ovid thought it a more rustic, primitive and ancient affair than the Parentalia itself. It appears to have functioned as a cleansing ritual for Caristia
Caristia
In ancient Rome, the Caristia, also known as the Cara Cognatio, was an official but privately observed holiday on February 22 that celebrated love of family with banqueting and gifts. Families gathered to dine together and offer food and incense to the Lares as their household gods...
on the following day, when the family held an informal banquet to celebrate the amity between themselves and their benevolent ancestral dead (lares
Lares
Lares , archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these....
). The emphasis on collective cult for the manes and early di parentes implies their afterlife as vague and lacking individuation. In later cult they are vested with personal qualities, and in the Imperial cult
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority of the Roman State...
, they acquire divine numen
Numen
Numen is a Latin term for a potential, guiding the course of events in a particular place or in the whole world, used in Roman philosophical and religious thought...
and become the divi.
From Parentalia to Caristia
Caristia
In ancient Rome, the Caristia, also known as the Cara Cognatio, was an official but privately observed holiday on February 22 that celebrated love of family with banqueting and gifts. Families gathered to dine together and offer food and incense to the Lares as their household gods...
all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and "magistrates appeared without their insignia" (implying that no official business was done). William Warde Fowler
William Warde Fowler
William Warde Fowler was an English historian and ornithologist, and tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was best known for his works on ancient Roman religion....
describes the Parentalia as " practically a yearly renewal of the rite of burial".