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Lesser Quinquatrus: Ides June to XVI Kalends July

The Greater Quinquatrus was a celebration of Minerva (Gr. Athena), goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare. She was also the patroness of flute and pipe players, as she was traditionally credited with the invention of the flute.

Minerva's Invention of the Flute

As the story goes, she invented the flute by piercing holes in boxwood, but was embarassed by how it made her look when her cheeks puffed out to play it. She threw it away, but it was found by a satyr. In another story, the god Pan created a similar instrument (the pan flute, or panpipes) out of reeds.

Classical Satyrs were depicted as men with the ears, tail, and sometimes legs of a horse, while Pan has the horns, legs, and tail of a goat. Later, these two images were conflated. (Wikipedia, Satyr)

The Flute-Players' Guild

June was the time when the flute players, or *tibicines*, honored Minerva. The tibicines played sacred music for all rituals and sacrifices in Rome. Apparently, teh Roman officials in 311 B.C.E. outlawed the annual banquet of the tibicines, causing them to go on strike. Eventually, the Senate changed their minds, and three days a year were set aside for the tibicines. During this time, the tibicines roamed the city in festive robes while making music.

Sources

📕 Bernstein, Frances, _Classical Living: Reconnecting with the Rituals of Ancient Rome_. HarperCollins, 2000. pages 121-123

Wikipedia, Satyr (via gemini)

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✍️ Last Updated: 2021-06-25

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