In Roman times priests and certain soldiers were known as wolfmen because they protected their herds from wolves. The wolfmen known as Luperci created a festival to honor Juno who was the queen of the Roman Goddesses and herself known as the Goddess of Marriage and Fertility. The festival became known as Lupercalia. Lupercalia was created to purge the city of evil dieties by sharing burnt offerings and sacrified goats and dogs. Participants made loin clothes from the skins of sacrificed animals and then flogged the single females with the loin clothes as a ritual of fertility. The drunken Romans played an ancient version of spin the bottle with the single naked ladies by drawing names out of vessels and the man would then mate with the lady whose name he drew until the end of the festival or for a period of one year and if that worked the couple would become and remain married. ffi: www.floridaitalian.com
