Neptune is god of the sea. He is worshipped by the Romans also as a god of horses, under the name Neptunus Equester, a patron of horse-racing. His priests traditionally take part in processions at the circus. The Neptunalia is his festival on July 23, at the height of summer. This is a time of general, free and unrestrained merrymaking, drinking springwater and wine to escape the heat, and during which men and women mix without the usual Roman traditional social constraints.

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