Roman Civilization

CMS 206 /History 206

• Parentalia - (the feast for dead parents) - NP
  • The first of three related festivals in February for appeasing the dead which started on the Ides and lasted until the 22nd. From February 13 through the 21st (the Feralia, FP or F, the feast of infernal powers)all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and public officials lay down their insignia of office. On the 22nd, Romans celebrated the Carista, C (the feast of the dear kindred).
  • Although the Parentalia always began with the performance of ceremonies in honor of dead parents by a Vestal Virgin, Romans basically celebrated the Parentalia at the family level. Families walked outside the city to visit the family tombs and performed private sacrifices in honor of dead kin (especially parents). The sacrifices were simple, a little wine, a little corn or bread, perhaps some votive garlands. It was a quiet, personal, reflective day, followed by a quiet reflective week or so to think about loved ones and the importance of the family.
  • The Feralia, was a much darker, scarier rite which in Ovid's description has overtones of witchcraft and magic and at which sheep were sacrificed to the spirits of the dead. The republican festival was a public holiday, but Augustan calendars record it as one of the dies fasti. We don't know much about what the public ritual was, but some scholars compare it to Halloween.
  • The Carista, on the other hand, was literally a family renunion, where the living, now that they had paid respect to the dead, gathered to celebrate their own family (and resolve any outstanding quarrels). It was a potluck dinner and sacrifices were made to the Lares (every family had personal gods which Romans referred to as their "Lares and Penates." If your family didn't invite you to the Carista it meant that they thought you were unkind or guilty of something pretty nasty.
• The focus on family solidarity that these fesitivals represent is illustrated by one of Catullus' most famous poems, written after the death of his brother [Catullus 101] (Latin students try the original).