Agonalia and Vejovis!

Happy Friday Greetings to you! 

I'm writing about even more of those Ancient Roman festivals in May, specifically the 21^st May- Festivals of Agonalia and the May festival in honour of Vejovis.

 Agonalia

There were four Agonaliae Roman festivals during the year, the other three being on 9 January, 17 March and 11 December.

The reasons for the festival are largely unknown, and are highly disputed, but it seem to have dated back to the earliest Roman eras, possibly to the reign of Numa Pompilius, second King of Rome. The festival dates named above are seen on very ancient Roman calendars and the sacrifice may have been held on the Quirinal Hill (originally called the Agonus) at the Colline Gate (Agonensis).

Held in the Regia (the House of the king) it indicated the sacrifices were to the highest deities and were for the good of the whole of the state. In the historical period, the Regia was at the top of the Via Sacra. This would have been close to the location of the Arch of Titus at the SE end of the Roman Forum that we can visit today.

The rex sacrificus (sacrorum) sacrificed a ram, the usual offering for the guardian gods of the state.

Note: The 17^th of March was the Agonium Martiale- alongside the Liberalia festival held in preparation for the beginning of the war/campaign season.

 The Vejovis sacrifices

The 21^st May was also one of the celebratory days in honour of Vejovis, an ancient god probably of Etruscan origin. Vejovis was portrayed as a young man holding 3 arrows, spears or thunderbolts in his right hand and accompanied by a goat (she-goat). A god of healing, he was associated with Asclepius (Greek).

Republican denarius showing Vejovis on the left. 

There was a temple dedicated to him between the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill.

There are potentially darker aspects to Vejovis but since not enough information is verified, I leave it to readers to decide whether he was an anti-Jove or not, or a 'bad' god associated with devastating volcanic eruptions. Was he from the underworld, or not? Back to cause mayhem?  Interesting questions. 

A female sheep was the usual sacrifice to Vejovis, again performed by the rex sacrificus.

Till more of the Ancient Roman festivals in May- take care. 

Slàinte!