February and Roman gods

Since several millennia, February, or these weeks of the year, has always been special. Among Romans, there were many festivities which took part in these days, and were deeply linked with the concept of rebirth or purification. It’s always fascinating, for me at least, to imagine how Winter and Spring could be seen from people from thousands of years ago. Let’s try digging into some ancient gods and celebrations of the past. Fever All Through the Night 🔗Romans inherited deities from a few civilizations; the most famous are the counterparts from Greek mythology. Etruscans, though, who had lived in Italy centuries before, passed them Februus, an ancient god of purification; he was also linked to the underworld. In the Roman pantheon, he became Febris, a goddess1 with pretty much the same traits. She protected the people from fever, which could have been malaria; the festivities dedicated to her had a purifying function, just as one sweats when recovering from a fever.