Dies sanguinis

Dies Sanguinis (Day of Blood) was a festival held in Ancient Rome on the 24th March, called Bellona's Day, when the Roman votaries of the war-goddess cut themselves and drank the sacrificial blood to propitiate the deity.

The celebrants flogged themselves until they bled and sprinkled their blood upon the image and the altars in the sanctuart, while others are said to have imitated Attis by castrating themselves. Such painful and dramatic acts allowed the worshipers to identify with the pain and death of Attis, to whom were dedicated a cycle of festivities,which were celebrated from 15th to 28th March.

This festivities celebrated the death of the god. Among these, there were the "Sanguem" and the "Hilaria". The Hilaria on March 25th brought renewed joy and hope. There was feasting in honor of the Great Mother and good cheer.

The spring festival came to a close with a much-needed day of rest (March 26) and a final day (March 27) on which the holy image of the Great Mother was bathed in the Almo River.

The Galli: a special "priesthood"

Fundamental to understanding the meaning and the function of the myth and ritual related to Attis in Rome is his relationship with the Galli. The role of prototype of the mythical castration of Attis for the institution of the "priesthood" of the Galli has almots always been emphasised, even if to different degrees. Scholars have attempted to draw a connection between the episode of the castration of Attis and the ritual mutilation of the Galli as a reflection in myth of a secondary ritual action or conversely, as the mythical foundation of a ritual action. This kind of interpretation appears to be too simplistic as, to some extent, it fails to consider that this connection has served different purposes in different periods. The emasculation of Attis in the "Phygian" version of the myth is the basis for ans institution that is both political and religious, the institution of hig priests in Pessinous, the "non-kings", who don't coincide tout court with the Galli. The earliest references to the Galli come from the Anthologia Palatina although they don't explicitly mention emasculation. More interesting is the fragment attributed to Callimachus, in which the term Gallai denotes castration that has taken place.