Parentalia

In ancient Rome, the Parentalia (Latin pronunciation: [parɛnˈtaːlɪ.a]) or dies parentales ([ˈdɪ.eːs parɛnˈtaːleːs], "ancestral days") was a nine-day festival held in honour of family ancestors, beginning on 13 February.[1]

Although the Parentalia was a holiday on the Roman religious calendar, its observances were mainly domestic and familial.[2] The importance of the family to the Roman state, however, was expressed by public ceremonies on the opening day, the Ides of February, when a Vestal conducted a rite for the collective di parentes of Rome at the tomb of Tarpeia.[3]

  1. ^ Mary Beard, J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price, Religions of Rome: A History (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 50; Stefan Weinstock, Divus Julius (Oxford, 1971), pp. 291-6.
  2. ^ Beard et al., Religions of Rome, p. 50.
  3. ^ William Warde Fowler, The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic (London, 1908), p. 306 (1899 Internet Archive edition available.