276:
287:
434:. The householder, perhaps with others, walks barefoot through the house at midnight. He washes his hands in spring water, takes his thumb between the fingers of his hand, to ward off any ghosts, then takes a mouthful of black beans and spits them out behind him or throws them behind himself, over his shoulder for the hungry
426:
was meant to help those family members who had died in circumstances that prevented or delayed their admission to the afterlife; those who had died "before their time," in their childhood or youth, through disease, war, assault or misadventure, or in circumstances that prevented their being given
410:, made harmful and spiteful to the living because "kinless and neglected" in death and after it, having no rites or memorial, free to leave their dead body but unable to enter the underworld or afterlife. A less common but more "mischievous and dangerous" type of ghost, known as
847:(Boston 1931) p. 84: "...the thirteenth of May, which was one of the days of the Roman festival of the dead, the Lemuria. Whether there is any connection between these dates or not, the rites of All Saints' Day are a survival not of the Lemuria but of the Parentalia."
460:
for what are presumably the same ghosts, at the same festival, under different names but with little or no individuation other than differing levels of malice or benevolence. Presumably there was some overlap in identity.
465:, on the other hand, were thought to have been entirely unforgiving, even demonic. Some of the literature presents them as persecuting the living, and torturing bad souls in Hades.
480:
ceremony in the same month, supposedly a substitute for former human sacrifices, made the whole month of May unlucky for marriages. This is one possible explanation for Ovid's
891:
777:"All Saints' Day and Halloween": "...yet May 13 had also happened to be the last day of the Roman Lemuria for lost souls"; Richard P. Taylor,
448:). The householder washes his hands in spring-water, three times. When he turns to see the results of the offering, or exorcism, no
811:
444:) nine times; then the rest of the household clashes bronze pots while repeating, "Ghosts of my fathers and ancestors, be gone!" (
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422:, is a rarity in any source, and seems to have also been used for a frightening type of theater mask. Dolansky believes that the
1289:
315:
877:
859:
1279:
148:
721:
Dolansky, Fanny, "Nocturnal Rites to
Appease the Untimely Dead: The Lemuria in Its Socio-Historical Context",
617:.2 p 182) remarking "The ordinary appellation for the dead in late Republican and early Imperial times was
402:
points out that Remus' death was violent, premature, and a matter of regret for
Romulus. Toynbee defines
352:
any malevolent and fearful ghosts of the restless dead from their homes. These unwholesome spectres, the
794:
1284:
337:
308:
137:
20:
610:"they do not occur in epitaphs or higher poetry," George Thaniel noted (in "Lemures and Larvae"
399:
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208:
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200, p. 163: "Pope
Boniface IV (608-615) replaced Lemuria with "All Saints' Day" on 13 May."
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to gather, unseen. He chants "I send these; with these beans I redeem me and mine" (
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http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Lemuralia.html
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all temples were closed, and no marriages were allowed. The three days of the
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the three days of the festival were 9, 11, and 13 May. Lemuria's name and
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Modern linguists dismiss this connection but find the etymology of
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has been celebrated at Rome ever since and started the feast of
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26:"Lemuralia" redirects here. For the EP by Patrick Wolf, see
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held this feast on 13 May. Later, on 13 May in 609 or 610,
383:
363:
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See for example "Days of the Dead" in
Christian Roy, ed.
703:
Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1971, 1996 pp. 34-35, 64
723:
Mouseion
Journal of the Classical Association of Canada
627:, although frequent use was also made of such terms as
899:
362:
were propitiated with chants and offerings of black
771:
Traditional festivals: a multicultural encyclopedia
504:According to some cultural historians, Lemuria was
394:to appease the angry spirit of his murdered twin,
839:of All Saints' and All Souls' Day with the Roman
1271:
779:Death and the Afterlife: a cultural encyclopedia
725:March 2019 16(S1):37-64 DOI:10.3138/mous.16.s1-4
414:was thought to wander about the house with the
639:and others." He notes the first appearance of
441:Haec ego mitto; his redimo meque meosque fabis
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309:
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892:
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316:
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864:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
430:Ovid's is the only detailed account of
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873:
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541:dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres
793:, Volume 4, Nov. 1, citing in turn
701:Death and Burial in the Roman World
13:
516:. Christians in 4th-century Roman
16:Ancient Roman festival of the dead
14:
1301:
612:The American Journal of Philology
427:proper burial or funeral rites.
285:
274:
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452:are to be seen. Ovid uses both
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1290:Observances honoring the dead
369:
151:Etruscan mythologies compared
476:, and the performance of an
7:
845:Survivals of Roman Religion
594:, a similar Japanese custom
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336:was an annual event in the
10:
1306:
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835:An attempt to connect the
812:"All Saints and All Souls"
799:, ed. Bicknell, pp. 23, 89
386:, derives from a supposed
25:
18:
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160:Other minor Roman deities
791:Butler's Lives of Saints
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338:religion of ancient Rome
138:Religion in ancient Rome
21:Lemuria (disambiguation)
1280:Ancient Roman festivals
482:Mense Maio malae nubunt
281:Ancient Rome portal
862:Smith, William, 1875.
440:
816:catholiceducation.org
1169:Quinquennial Neronia
539:; the feast of that
488:6.219-234, cited by
446:Manes exite paterni!
19:For other uses, see
810:Saunders, William.
398:. The philosopher
340:, during which the
37:Part of a series on
512:commemorating all
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699:Toynbee, J.M.C.,
514:Christian martyrs
326:
325:
149:Roman, Greek, and
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1079:Ludi Apollinares
1044:Ieiunium Cereris
959:Capitoline Games
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557:All Saints' Day
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537:all the martyrs
531:of Rome to the
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382:, according to
376:Julian calendar
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1104:Meditrinalia
1094:Lusus Troiae
1063:
1004:Epulum Jovis
939:Armilustrium
906:
863:
844:
836:
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821:18 September
819:. Retrieved
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406:as ordinary
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1254:Volturnalia
1224:Tricennalia
1219:Tiberinalia
1164:Quinquatria
1139:Opiconsivia
1084:Ludi Romani
974:Carmentalia
949:Bacchanalia
562:Anthesteria
468:During the
380:origin myth
1274:Categories
1259:Vulcanalia
1244:Vicennalia
1214:Terminalia
1199:Sementivae
1184:Saturnalia
1174:Regifugium
1154:Poplifugia
1144:Parentalia
1129:Neptunalia
1114:Mercuralia
1099:Matronalia
1089:Lupercalia
1054:Larentalia
1039:Furrinalia
1034:Fornacalia
1029:Fordicidia
994:Decennalia
984:Compitalia
964:Caprotinia
944:Augustalia
924:Ambarvalia
841:Parentalia
582:Parentalia
370:Observance
344:performed
179:Dei Lucrii
52:Major gods
1234:Veneralia
1179:Robigalia
1124:Nemoralia
1109:Megalesia
1069:Liberalia
1049:Junonalia
989:Consualia
929:Amburbium
756:Toynbee,
679:, V.421ff
651:ii.2.209.
633:immagines
587:Radonitsa
577:Halloween
510:feast day
484:, in his
474:Lemuralia
470:Lemuralia
424:Lemuralia
330:Lemuralia
209:Convector
1239:Vestalia
1024:Floralia
1009:Equirria
979:Cerealia
969:Caristia
954:Brumalia
919:Agonalia
664:obscure.
649:Epistles
625:Di Manes
592:Setsubun
551:See also
529:Pantheon
408:di Manes
400:Porphyry
350:exorcise
259:Terminus
239:Lupercus
229:Portunus
194:Carmenta
189:Bona Dea
71:Quirinus
1249:Vinalia
1189:Rosalia
1149:Parilia
1074:Lucaria
1064:Lemuria
1019:Feralia
999:Divalia
854:Sources
662:lemures
641:lemures
637:species
572:Feralia
492:in his
490:Erasmus
450:lemures
436:lemures
432:Lemuria
416:lemures
404:lemures
392:Romulus
388:Remuria
374:In the
355:lemures
334:Lemuria
214:Lemures
204:Dea Dia
199:Camenae
184:Furrina
169:Penates
143:Flamens
96:Mercury
91:Minerva
86:Fortuna
61:Jupiter
1014:Februa
907:(ludi)
905:games
837:cultus
760:, p.64
673:Ovid,
645:Horace
629:umbrae
567:Dziady
518:Edessa
500:Legacy
494:Adagia
463:Larvae
412:larvae
359:larvae
342:Romans
254:Egeria
249:Pomona
174:Genius
125:Topics
101:Vulcan
934:Argei
738:V.443
736:Fasti
734:Ovid
676:Fasti
620:Manes
599:Notes
508:as a
486:Fasti
478:Argei
458:Manes
454:lemur
420:larva
396:Remus
364:beans
346:rites
264:Lares
244:Pales
234:Flora
219:Manes
116:Janus
111:Venus
106:Ceres
76:Vesta
903:and
823:2016
775:s.v.
535:and
527:the
456:and
384:Ovid
328:The
81:Juno
66:Mars
643:in
623:or
357:or
348:to
332:or
1276::
814:.
647:,
635:,
631:,
615:94
547:.
366:.
893:e
886:t
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866:.
825:.
317:e
310:t
303:v
30:.
23:.
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