Matralia

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The Matralia were a religious festival in the Roman Empire .

The Matralia was celebrated as part of the Roman festival calendar on June 11th in honor of the goddess Mater Matuta . It was introduced by the legendary King Servius Tullius . During the festival, the aunts first prayed for the health of their nephews and nieces, then for that of their own children. The day was dedicated to the goddess Mater Matuta (Latin for morning mother), who was worshiped in the twin temple for Fortuna and Mater Matuta in the area sacra di Sant'Omobono in Rome, as she was equated with Fortuna Redux, the goddess of spring, who Birth and growth. Only Roman mothers were admitted, female slaves were explicitly excluded. During the festivities, female slaves were led, beaten, and driven out of the temple.

According to Ovid, the hostility towards the slaves goes back to the legend of the Theban princess Ino . Her husband, the King Athamas of Boeotia, had slept with one of her slaves and learned that his wife was planning to kill his children from his first marriage. When the plan was exposed, Ino threw himself into the sea, but was rescued by Nereids and dragged into the mouth of the Tiber. Her children were killed, instead she now looked after the son of her sister Semele , Bacchus / Dionysus . Therefore, this festival should focus on aunts.

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