Pales

Pālēs, in Roman religion, a deity of flocks and shepherds, similar to Pan among the Greeks, male according to Varro and others, female according to Virgil and Ovid. The festival of Pales, the Parilia, took place on 21 April, the traditional ‘birthday’ of Rome (and still regarded as such). It seems to have been a ritual purification of shepherds and flocks, firmly connected (for reasons which remain obscure) with the foundation of Rome. The sheep pens were cleaned and decorated with greenery, and sulphur was burnt on bonfires so that the smoke purified the sheep; offerings of cake and milk were made to Pales. The shepherd washed himself in dew, drank milk, and leaped through the bonfire. At the urban celebration of the festival the ashes of the calves burnt at the Fordicidia were sprinkled on the fire. Ovid believed that the Parilia were older than Rome itself.

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