Lupercalia (lOOpurkāl'yu) [key], ancient Roman festival held annually on Feb. 15. The ceremony of the festival was intended to secure fertility and keep out evil. Two male youths, clad in animal skin, ran around the city slapping passersby with strips of goat skin. Because the youths impersonated male goats (the embodiment of sexuality), the ceremony was believed to be in honor of Faunus. The festival survived into Christian times and was not abolished until the end of the 5th cent.
