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cover of episode Valentine's Day in Ancient Rome
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Emma Southern
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Kate Lister
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Kate Lister: 我想象着自己身处公元前5世纪的罗马,正准备去帕拉蒂尼山徒步旅行。然而,我却意外地遇到了一群浑身是山羊血的祭司,他们正在进行某种奇怪的仪式。这让我联想到了Lupercalia节日,一个涉及山羊、血液和鞭打的古怪庆典。我很好奇这个节日的起源和意义,以及它与现代情人节的联系。 Emma Southern: Lupercalia是一个非常古老的节日,甚至罗马人自己也不清楚它的起源。这个节日最主要的活动是,一些贵族青年男子会裸体在街上奔跑,用山羊皮鞭打妇女,而妇女们似乎很享受这种行为,认为这样可以帮助她们怀孕或顺利分娩。这个节日可能源于前罗马时期的牧羊人仪式,与生育和保护有关。虽然罗马人对这个节日的具体含义有很多不同的解释,但他们都认为这是一个非常重要的庆典。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The podcast starts by introducing the Lupercalia, a bizarre ancient Roman festival involving naked men, goat sacrifices, and whipping women. The episode explores the origins and practices of this festival, highlighting its unusual nature even within the context of Roman rituals.
  • The Lupercalia involved naked Roman men running through the streets, whipping women with goat skin thongs.
  • The festival included a goat sacrifice in a cave, followed by rituals with goat blood and milk.
  • The origins and purpose of the Lupercalia were unclear even to the Romans themselves, with various explanations offered throughout history.

Shownotes Transcript

What are the origins of Valentine's Day?

Perhaps the answer lies in a pagan festival that starts with a sacrifice in a cave above Ancient Rome.

What connects the naked running through the streets of Rome to Valentine's Day today? How did the onset of Christianity in Rome effect celebrations? And when did Valentine's Day as we know it today first take off?

Joining Kate to find out all about this, is friend of the show and author, Emma Southon. Check out Emma's book A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women, here).

This podcast was edited by Amy Haddow and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.