30 June

Dedication Day of the Temple of Hercules

 
In ancient Rome this was the Dedication day of the temple of Hercules and the Muses. The temple was built by Marcus Fulvius Nobilior out of the fines he had collected as a censor in 179 B.C. It seems that when he was in Greece, he had heard of Hercules, leader of the Muses (normally a function of Apollo). The temple was quite elaborate, and Fulvius set up a calendar inscription, statues of the nine Muses, and one of Hercules playing a lyre. The rites would have included a procession with a sacrifice and games.