Hi everyone! This is TIMOTHEVS!
So, since March is drawing near, let’s talk
about the significance of this month in ancient
Rome!
In early Roman times, March marked the beginning
of both agricultural activities and the campaigning season.
So it makes sense that this month
was sacred to Mars, the Roman God of war and agriculture.
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The English “March” derives from Latin
“Mensis Martius”, meaning “the Month
of Mars”. On the first day of the month,
celebrations were held in His honour.
Apparently, women played an important role
in these celebrations, even though He, being
a war God, generally tended to get more attention
from men. The following story was told to
explain why women celebrated March 1:
During the reign of King Romulus, the Romans
abducted and married women from a neighbouring
tribe called the Sabines (Latin: SABINI),
as there was a shortage of women among the Romans.
When the Sabines were about to attack
in retaliation, the now happily married Sabine
women were put in a difficult position, because
depending on who would won, they’d either
lose their Sabine fathers or their Roman husbands.
On the day when the confrontation between
the Romans and the Sabine men was supposed
to take place, the Sabine women suddenly showed
up on the battle field. With loose hair and
dressed in funeral clothing, they held their
half-Roman children and stood between the
two parties that were about to attack one another.
Their attempt to deescalate the situation
by showing off their adorable, innocent infants
was successful and the Sabines and the Romans
made peace. The important role women played
in preventing this war was reflected in their
role during the Feriae Marti, the festivities
in honour of Mars.
The Matronalia in honour of Iuno Lucina were
also celebrated on March 1, making it a busy
day for women.
Throughout the month of March, a group of
12 priests called the “Salii” ( “leaping priests”)
would carry 12 shields from the
temple of Mars in a procession across Rome.
One of these shields was the mythical ancile,
the bronze shield that was supposed to have
fallen from the sky during the reign of king
Numa. As the success of Rome was believed
to be linked to the Ancile, just like the
success of Troy was linked to the Palladium,
it needed to be protected.
Following the advice of the Nymph Egeria,
king Numa had 11 identical-looking shields
made. They were kept together with the original
to confuse enemies who would want to cause
the fall of Rome by stealing the shield, just
like Ulixes had symbolically caused the fall
of Troy by stealing the Palladium.
King Numa gave the shields to the Salii along
with instructions for a song they had to sing.
Mamurius, the maker of the 11 fake ancilia,
was rewarded with an honourable mention at the end of the song.
Okay, that’s it for this time!
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This was TIMOTHEVS, thanks for watching!
