The cave of Romulus and the Lupercalia

For those of us classicists, this is a very exciting discovery (even if a few months old now). I’m just disappointed that somebody else found it, and not me. An article in the New York Times talks about the discovery of the cave sacred to the Romans. According to Roman myth, two twins, Romulus and Remus, were rescued by a she-wolf and suckled back to health in this cave. Whether or not this myth is true, the cave itself was probably the cave associated with this myth, as well as the Roman festival of the Lupercalia. celebrated on February 13-15. This old yet strange festival involved the sacrifice of dogs and goats. Then, after getting their foreheads smeared with blood, young boys would wear the goat skins, run around the Palatine Hill and hit women with strips of leather (called Februa, thus the naming of the month) thereby insuring fertility.

What else is exciting about this cave is its location under the house of the first emperor, Augustus. This confirms the notion that Augustus saw himself as the new founder of Rome by constructing his house on top of the sacred cave and connecting himself with Romulus and the festivals surrounding it.

I’m sure you all are thrilled.