The Argei rituals were archaic religious observances in ancient Rome that took place on March 16 and 17, and again on May 14 or 15. By the time of Augustus, the meaning of these rituals had become obscure even to those who practiced them.
The Rituals of Argei
For the May rites, a procession of pontiffs, vestals and praetors made the circuit of 27 stations (sacella or sacraria), where at each they recovered a figure fashioned in human form from rushes, reeds and straw, resembling men bound hand and foot.
After visiting all the stations, the procession, accompanied by the Flaminica Dialis in mourning attire, moved to the Pons Sublicius, the oldest known bridge in Rome, where the assembled figures were thrown into the Tiber.
Both the figures (effigies or simulacra) and the stations or sanctuaries were called Argei, the etymology of which remains undetermined.
The continuation of these rites into the later historical period when they were no longer understood shows how traditionalist the Romans were in matters of religion.
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On this day, the Romans celebrated the Argei (or Argea). This cult dates back to the beginning of Rome with two ceremonies two months apart. The first ceremony consisted of a procession during which mannequins, called Argées, were placed in sanctuaries. The second consisted of a procession during which the mannequins were removed from the sanctuaries and then thrown into the Tiber from the top of the sacred bridge, the Sublicius Bridge. #mythology #myth #legend #calendar #March 16 #May 15 #rome #argei #tibre
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