Ambarvalia

thumb|right|Relief depicting the three animals sacrificed at the Ambarvalia as part of a suovetaurilia (a sow, a sheep, and a bull) Ambarvalia was a Roman agricultural fertility rite, involving animal sacrifices and held on 29 May in honor of Ceres, Bacchus and Dea Dia. However, the exact timing could vary since Ambarvalia were "feriae conceptivae" - a festival not bound to a fixed date.

== Summary == Ambarvalia is believed to have taken its name from the words "ambiō" - "I go round" and "arvum" - "field". During the festival, they sacrificed a bull, a sow, and a sheep, which were led in procession thrice around the fields. This sacrifice was called a suovetaurilia in Latin. Ambarvalia can be of two kinds: public and private. The private were solemnized by the masters of families, accompanied by their children and servants, in the villages and farms out of Rome. The public was celebrated within the city's boundaries, in which twelve fratres arvales walked at the head of a procession of citizens who had lands and vineyards in Rome. During the procession, prayers would be made to the goddess. The ambervale carmen was the preferred prayer.