The Floralia was a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

in ancient Roman religious practice in honor of the goddess Flora, held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...

. The festival included ''Ludi Florae'', the "Games of Flora", which lasted for six days under the

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. The festival had a licentious, pleasure-seeking atmosphere. In contrast to many festivals which had a patrician character, the games of Flora were

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

in nature.

Flora

Flora is one of the most ancient goddesses of Roman religion and was one of fifteen deities to have her own state-supported high priest, the '' flamen Florialis''. A goddess of flowers, vegetation, and fertility, she received sacrifices ''( piacula)'' in the sacred grove of the

Arval Brothers In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide eviden ...

, an archaic priesthood. Her altar at Rome was said to have been established by the Sabine king

Titus Tatius According to the Roman foundation myth, Titus Tatius was the king of the Sabines from Cures and joint-ruler of the Kingdom of Rome for several years. During the reign of Romulus, the first king of Rome, Tatius declared war on Rome in resp ...

during the semi-legendary Regal period. ''Flusalis'' (linguistically equivalent to ''Floralia'') was a month on the Sabine calendar, and

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

counted Flora among the Sabine deities.

Temples of Flora

The Temple of Flora was built in Rome upon consultation with the

Sibylline Books The ''Sibylline Books'' ( la, Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and were consulted at ...

shortly after a drought that occurred around 241–238 BCE. The temple was located near the Circus Maximus on the lower slope of the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth '' rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the so ...

, a site associated with the

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

of Rome. Games were instituted for the founding day of the temple (April 28), and were held only occasionally until continued crop damage led to their annual celebration beginning in 173. ''Flora Rustica'' ("Rural Flora") had another temple on the Quirinal Hill, the ''Temple of Flora Rustica'', which may have been the location of the altar erected by Tatius.

Games

The games ''(

ludi ''Ludi'' ( Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...

)'' of Flora were presented by the plebeian aediles and paid for by fines collected when public lands ''( ager publicus)'' were encroached upon.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

mentions his role in organizing games for Flora when he was aedile in 69 BC. The festival opened with theatrical performances ''( ludi scaenici)'', and concluded with competitive events and spectacles at the Circus and a sacrifice to Flora. In AD 68, the entertainments at the Floralia presented under the emperor Galba featured a tightrope-walking elephant.

Participation of prostitutes

Prostitutes participated in the Floralia as well as the wine festival (

Vinalia The Vinalia were Roman festivals of the wine harvest, wine vintage and gardens, held in honour of Jupiter and Venus. The ''Vinalia prima'' ("first Vinalia"), also known as the ''Vinalia urbana'' ("Urban Vinalia") was held on 23 April to bless an ...

) on April 23. According to the satirist

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

, prostitutes danced naked and fought in mock

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

combat. Many prostitutes in ancient Rome were

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and even free women who worked as prostitutes lost their legal and social standing as citizens, but their inclusion at religious festivals indicates that sex workers were not completely outcast from society.

Observances

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

says that

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...

s and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s—animals considered fertile and salacious—were ceremonially released as part of the festivities.

Persius Aulus Persius Flaccus (; 4 December 3424 November 62 AD) was a Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan origin. In his works, poems and satires, he shows a Stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for what he considered to be the stylistic abuses of hi ...

says that the crowd was pelted with vetches, beans, and

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

s, also symbols of fertility. In contrast to the Cerealia, when white garments were worn, multi-colored clothing was customary. There may have been nocturnal observances, since sources mention measures taken to light the way after the theatrical performances. A rite called the Florifertum is described by one source as involving the bearing ''(fert-)'' of wheat ears ''(spicae)'' into a shrine ''( sacrarium)''. It is unclear whether the offering was made to Flora or to Ceres, or whether if made to Flora it occurred on April 27 or May 3. Ovid describes a ''florifertum'' in honor of

Juno Lucina Juno ( ; Latin ) was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology. A daughter of Saturn, she was the sister and wife of Jupiter and the mother of Ma ...

on March 1, a date also celebrated as the '' dies natalis'' ("birthday") of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

F-H.Massa-Pairault, ''Lasa Vecu, Lasa Vecuvia'', ''Dialoghi di Archeologia'', 3,6, 1988. in whose conception Flora played a role.

References

External links

Encyclopædia Romana: ''Floralia''
{{Roman religion (festival) Ancient Roman festivals April observances May observances