Lupercus (mythology)

{{Short description|Roman deity}}

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Lupercus or Lubercus or Luberkus was a god in Roman mythology. Lupercus was a protector of the farmers, harvesting and packs of wild animals. Every year on 15 February in honor of him, the Romans held the Lupercalia. He was an ancient Italian god, worshipped by shepherds as the promoter of fertility in sheep and protector of flocks.{{Cite web|title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Lupercus|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=lupercus-bio-1|access-date=2022-02-22|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}

His sanctuary was the Lupercal, where she-wolf took care of Romulus and Remus;{{cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/luperco/|title=Luperco|website=treccani.it − Enciclopedie on line|publisher= istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana|access-date=2024-02-12}} this is why Lupercalia was a celebration that helped pregnant women.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Lupercus is sometimes identified with the god Pan in Greek mythology. The Roman god Faunus is a variation of Lupercus, also linked to the festival of Lupercalia.{{Cite web|last=Franklin|first=Alberta Mildred|date=1921|title=The Lupercalia|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/FRALUP/6*.html|access-date=2022-02-22|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|pages=53–55}}