Lĕmŭres

, the manes of the dead. The ancients supposed that the souls after death wandered all over the world, and disturbed the peace of its inhabitants. The good spirits were called Lares familiares , and the evil ones were known by the name of Larvæ , or Lemures . They terrified the good, and continually haunted the wicked and impious; and the Romans had the superstition to celebrate festivals in their honour, called Lemuria , or ♦ Lemuralia , in the month of May. They were first instituted by Romulus to appease the manes of his brother Remus, from whom they were called Remuria , and, by corruption, Lemuria . These solemnities continued three nights, during which the temples of the gods were shut and marriages prohibited. It was usual for the people to throw black beans on the graves of the deceased, or to burn them, as the smell was supposed to be insupportable to them. They also muttered magical words, and, by beating kettles and drums, they believed that the ghosts would depart and no longer come to terrify their relations upon earth. Ovid , Fasti , bk. 5 , li. 421 , . — Horace , bk. 2 , ltr. 2 , li. 209 .— Persius , bk. 5 , li. 185 . ♦ ‘Lemur i ali a’ replaced with ‘Lemuralia’