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On April 15 the Romans celebrated the Fordicidia, a harsh and archaic farming rite: the sacrifice of pregnant cows to the goddess Tellus, Earth, to secure fertility for fields and herds. The ashes of the calves were then used for the purification of the Parilia.
- Date: April 15
- Deity: Tellus, Earth
- Rite: sacrifice of pregnant cows, one per curia
- Priestesses: the Vestals kept the ashes of the calves
What Fordicidia means
The name comes from forda, the pregnant cow, and caedere, to kill. Varro and Ovid give the same explanation, and Ovid says King Numa set up the rite after a famine that followed the barrenness of fields and herds.
The rite
One pregnant cow was sacrificed for each of the 30 curiae of Rome. The calves were removed and burned by the Chief Vestal, and the ashes were kept in the Temple of Vesta to be handed out at the Parilia, on April 21.
Why a pregnant cow
The sacrifice gave the Earth an animal in which life was already under way, a symbol of fertility. To our eyes it looks crude, but in a farming society it was a form of ritual exchange with the land itself.
The thread to the Parilia
According to Ovid, the ashes of the Fordicidia, mixed with blood from the October Horse and with bean stalks, were used to purify people and flocks on April 21, the traditional day of Rome’s founding. So, in the tradition, the two festivals are best read together. For the hill of the rite, see the page on Capitoline Hill.
Frequently asked questions
What were the Fordicidia?
A festival on April 15 in which pregnant cows were sacrificed to Tellus for the fertility of the fields.
What was the role of the Vestals?
The Chief Vestal burned the calves, and the ashes were used for the purification of the Parilia.
How many cows were sacrificed?
One for each of the 30 curiae, according to the sources that describe the rite.
This festival is part of the calendar of ancient Roman festivals and the mos maiorum, where you will find all the other observances.
Sources
- Ovid, Fasti IV 629-672
- Varro, De lingua latina VI 15
- Festus, De verborum significatu
The illustrations are generated with artificial intelligence for evocative purposes.