Larentalia Of Ancient Rome Was A Day At The Very End Of The Saturnalia, Around December 23, Celebrated

Larentalia of Ancient Rome was a day at the very end of the Saturnalia, around December 23, celebrated in honor of various Deities. Some attest it to the celebration of Acca Larentia, the mythical mother of Romulus and Remus equated with the great she-wolf Lupa, whereas some call it the day of the Lares, protective household Deities of the Roman era. Multiple Di Inferi such as the Lares, Di Manes, Di Penates, and such received due praise on Larentalia.

Known also as Parentalia, Larom, Lemuria, Mania, this sacred day has a long history and roots from the beliefs and customs that preceded the very formation of Rome.

Larentalia has a complicated history, much like most Roman holidays and festivals do. Some sources attest it to be the day when Acca Larentia was praised and worshipped, as she was believed to have raised Romulus and Remus as their adoptive mother. Some stories speak of Acca Larentia as a woman who happened to have a large fortune left after her wealthy Etruscan lover, Tarutilus, passed, and that she gave the money to the people of Rome. Some call her the wife of Faustulus, the shepherd who found Romulus and Remus in the she-wolf's burrow. Some call her a courtesan and the mistress of the great Hercules given to him in a game of dice.

The latter might be a contributing factor to why Acca Larentia got slowly merged with the imagery of a she-wolf Lupa who raised Romulus and Remus according to the old myth: the word for a courtesan (lupa) and the word for a she-wolf (lupa) are cognates. Her other name, Acca, might be compared to the Sanskrit "akka", which means "mother" and rightfully allows us to consider her Mater Larum, the Mother of the Lares whom Romulus and Remus became for Rome after their deaths. The festival to honor the Lares was called Larom and coincided with Larentalia. Some, like Ovid, also referred to it as Mania after a corresponding Sabine Goddess.

The name of Quirinus is tightly connected to the cult of the Lares. Initially, this is likely the name of an Ancient indigenous agricultural Deity of Roman and Etruscan peoples who later was merged with the deified Romulus to represent a giving, prosperous ruler of the Empire.

Quirinus is also one of the epithets of the God Mars, one of the most beloved and treasured among the Roman Gods. Mars Quirinus was the peaceful face of the God of War when He guarded the civillians. Maurus Servius Honoratus in his notes to the Aeneid wrote the following: Mars enim cum saevit Gradivus dicitur, cum tranquillus est Quirinus ("When He rampages, Mars is Gradivus, but when He is at peace, He is Quirinus"). Gods such as Janus and Jupiter were also given the epithet Quirinus. Thus, the very name, Quirinus, became strongly associated with the image of provision, protection, and stability, which explains why Romulus was attested this name as well.

Such a diverse variety of ways Quirinus can be interpreted is partially due to the variety of theories that were created at the time to explain Romulus' death. Some authors claimed him to have been taken by a thunderstorm, some that he was killed by the Senate in a manner much similar to the way Julius Caesar died. Some claim that Romulus and Quirinus are one and have been one. The pre-Romulean function of the Divinity remains much of a mystery, though some argue that He might have been a part of the triad alongside Jupiter and Mars, thus constituting the three most beloved Gods of the Roman Empire.

Quirinus thus has connection to three most important areas of the Roman life: agriculture, military, and the afterlife. This creates a very chthonic identity of the newly coined Divinity, which explains why Larentalia was the day of honoring the dead.

The cult of Quirinus has birthed the new religious rank within Rome, flamen Quirinalis, which coexisted with flamen Dialis and flamen Martialis and seemed to perform a major religious function within the cult and across the entirety of Rome.

Larentalia was celebrated at the place of the supposed tomb of Acca Larentia, the Velabrum located between the Capitoline Hill and the Palatine Hill, not a long way from the old city. There, pontiffs and flamen Quirinalis sacrificed to Di Manes. Di Manes were the souls of the deceased loved ones, connected to other indigenous Roman Deities such as Di Penates, Genii, and the Lares. The festival to honor the Manes and Acca Larentia included performance of parentatio, or funeral rites. The Latin name of the ritual is the reason why Larentalia is also sometimes called Parentalia.

As the Mother of Lares, Acca Larentia received offerings given to the guardian spirits under her protection. However, the holiday wasn't limited to just her and instead celebrated all the Lares.

The nature of the offerings varies depending on what time period and what author we refer to. For example, Macrobius says that at first, Di Manes, as they were among Di Inferi, received offerings in form of human sacrifice. However, according to him, this tradition did not last for long and, under Junius Brutus, was replaced. Starting from Brutus' times, human sacrifice was substituted with offerings of garlic and poppy. In the same book Macrobius also states that people would hang up woolen human-shaped figurines on the day of the Manes to ward off anything bad happening to the family. This, as well as the fact most rituals likely happened at night, points out that this day was devoted to the chthonic Deities.

Among other offerings during Larentalia were homemade cakes and pigs sacrificed for the Di Inferi. Some writers suggest that if during the Larentalia, any piece of food was to fall on the ground, from the moment of touching it the food became an offering to the Lares and was to be burned. A similar tradition is seen among the Greeks who also believed that food dropped on the ground belonged to the spirits dwelling in the house.

As a part of the Saturnalia, Larentalia was one of the holidays of passing when the old died out and allowed the coming of the new.

Note: Do not use the decor in this post. I made it myself, images not mine. Please, be respectful. This holiday mentions the souls of the dead.

Sources are in my pinned.