Postscript to the Lupercalia: from Caesar to Andromachus

Extract

As a postscript to the two articles on the Lupercalia, and to bridge the gap in time between them, it is argued that there is no evidence to suggest a major reform of the festival in the period of Augustus' principate and that the traditional celebration continued into the Empire. There does, however, seem to be artistic evidence that from the third century onwards the celebrations became more dramatic, perhaps, violent, implying that there was some reform, perhaps to be connected with the suggestion inferred from Gelasius' text that the Luperci or those who took over responsibility from them started to employ actors instead of the original priestly runners. We bring evidence to support this theory.