idus octobres

Virgil

On this day in 70 BC, Virgil was born. He is considered one of the greatest poets of the Roman Empire.




The October Ides featured a two-horse chariot race on the Campus Martius and slaughter of the October Horse, i.e. the outer horse of the winning pair. Its tail was cut off and carried to the Regia where blood was dropped on the hearth while the head was also removed and taken elsewhere. This festival perhaps harkened all the way back to the days of the Indo-Europeans.

Additionally, today marked the Capitoline games in honor of Jupiter