Vinalia

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Vinalia
Observed by	Ancient Romans
Type	Pagan, Historical
Date	1 May 19 August
Celebrations	Urbana and Rustica
Observances	Libations of wine
Related to	Jupiter and Venus

The Vinalia were Roman festivals in honour of Jupiter and Venus. The first was held on August 19, and the second on May 1. The Vinalia of August 19 were called Vinalia Rustica, and were instituted on occasion of the war of the Latins against Mezentius; in the course of which war the people vowed a libation to Jupiter of all the wine in the succeeding vintage. On the same day likewise fell the dedication of a temple to Venus, whence some authors have fallen into a mistake that these Vinalia were sacred to Venus.

Contents 1 Vinalia 2 Vinalia Urbana 3 Vinalia Rustica 4 Documentation 5 Notes 6 Bibliography

[edit] Vinalia

The "city" Vinalia urbana (or priora), and the "other" Vinalia rustica (or altera) were separtate feast days: the Vinalia urbana were celebrated on April 23rd while the Vinalia rustica were celebrated on August 19th. Both celebrations featured a ritual dedicated to the harvest and for the good nature of crops. For the Romans, the Vinalia celebrations were one of the three most important Roman traditional holidays. Jupiter himself was worshipped on the Ides of every month, and the two Vinalia as well. Although the Vinalia celebrations were originally aimed to worship Jupiter, in the later Roman Empire the festival incorporated Venus, as the goddess of the garden and wine. Ovid makes a reference to the goddess of the garden and wine (Venus) and the Vinalia urbana.

[edit] Vinalia Urbana

The Vinalia urbana^[1] were celebrated in the honor of previous year’s wine harvest, thereby providing a ready-made opportunity for feasting and drinking. In the early days of the festival, Romans offered a libation to Jupiter, this act was referred to as a calpar. However, in time Venus naturally came to be associated with the Vinalia. The April 23rd ritual included pouring out wine at a temple of Venus. This wine was directed towards Jupiter .

[edit] Vinalia Rustica

The Vinalia rustica were celebrated on August 19th by all the inhabitants of Latium, the region in central Italy in which Rome is located. This festival is similar to that of the Vinalia urbana because it was originally sacred to Jupiter and later was conducted at the temples of Venus in her honor. On this occasion, the priest of Jupiter, Flamen Dialis, offered lambs to Jupiter on the altar while he broke grapes from a vine with his own hands. Due to the intense drinking and loss of control as a result, upper-class Roman women were supervised during this festival and sometimes given lower alcoholic content beverages.

[edit] Documentation

A well-documented account of the origins and rise of the celebration of the festival is given by Festus.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography

• Schmitz, Leonhard. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. (1875) p. 1198.
• Gratwick, A.s. "Catullus XXXII." Classical Quarterly [date missing].
• Wlson, Harry Langford. "New Italic Divinity." The American Journal of Philology.
• Schmitz, Leonhard. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. (1875) p. 1198
• Schilling, Robert. "Rome and Venus." The Classical Review [date missing].
• Review by Anthony J. Podlecki of Oswyn Murray, In Vino Veritas [periodical missing].

Roman religion series
Festivals
Agonalia | Armilustrium | Brumalia | Caprotinia | Carmentalia | Cerealia | Consualia Divalia | Epulum Jovis | Equirria | Feast of the Lemures | Floralia | Fordicia | Larentalia Lucaria | Ludi Romani | Lupercalia | Matronalia | Mercuralia | Neptunalia | Opiconsivia Parentalia | Parilia | Quinquatria | Quirinalia | Robigalia | Saturnalia | Secular Games Sementivae | Septimontium | Veneralia | Vinalia | Volturnalia | Vulcanalia