The pontifex maximus was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first held this position. Although in fact the most powerful office in the Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was officially ranked fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind the Rex Sacrorum and the flamines maiores.
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are attributed to him, such as the Roman calendar, Vestal Virgins, the cult of Mars, the cult of Jupiter, the cult of Romulus, and the office of pontifex maximus.
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs. The term pontiff was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in Roman Catholic ecclesiastical usage, to bishops, especially the Pope, who is sometimes referred to as the Roman Pontiff or the Supreme Pontiff.
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
In ancient Roman religion, the rex sacrorum was a senatorial priesthood reserved for patricians. Although in the historical era, the pontifex maximus was the head of Roman state religion, Festus says that in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, the rex sacrorum was of highest prestige, followed by the flamines maiores and the pontifex maximus. The rex sacrorum was based in the Regia.
A flamen was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three flamines maiores, who served the important Roman gods Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores. Two of the minores served deities whose names are now unknown; among the others are deities about whom little is known other than the name. During the Imperial era, the cult of a deified emperor also had a flamen.
In ancient Roman religion, the flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. The term Dialis is related to Diespiter, an Old Latin form of the name Jupiter. There were 15 flamines, of whom three were flamines maiores, serving the three gods of the Archaic Triad. According to tradition the flamines were forbidden to touch metal, ride a horse, or see a corpse. The Flamen Dialis was officially ranked second in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind only the rex sacrorum and before other flamines maiores and pontifex maximus.
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the flamines maiores, the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen flamens. The Flamen Martialis would have led public rites on the days sacred to Mars. Among his duties was the ritual brandishing of the sacred spears of Mars when the Roman army was preparing for war.
In ancient Rome, confarreatio was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of emmer, in Latin far or panis farreus, hence the rite's name. The Flamen Dialis and pontifex maximus presided over the wedding, and ten witnesses had to be present. The woman passed directly from the hand (manus) of her father or head of household to that of her new husband.
The apex was a cap worn by certain priests in ancient Rome.
The Archaic Triad is a hypothetical divine triad, consisting of the three allegedly original deities worshipped on the Capitoline Hill in Rome: Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. This structure was no longer clearly detectable in later times, and only traces of it have been identified from various literary sources and other testimonies. Many scholars dispute the validity of this identification.
Lucius Cornelius Merula was a politician and priest of the late Roman Republic.
In Roman Imperial cult, the flamen Divi Julii or flamen Divi Iulii, was the priest of the divinised Julius Caesar, and the fourth of the so-called flamines maiores to be created. The new flaminate was established by the Roman Senate in 42 BC, as part of Caesar's consecration as a divus two years after his assassination. Caesar had, in his lifetime, been the recipient of an unofficial divine cult from his supporters, and had designated Mark Antony to serve as his priest. Caesar's cult continued after his death, and in 40 BC, the senate confirmed Antony as the first flamen Divi Iulii.
Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis was a Roman statesman, who flourished during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was flamen dialis, and consul suffectus in AD 10.
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen or high priest of the god Quirinus. He was one of the three flamines maiores, third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis. Like the other two high priests, he was subject to numerous ritual taboos, such as not being allowed to touch metal, ride a horse, or spend the night outside Rome. His wife functioned as an assistant priestess with the title Flaminicia Quirinalis.
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Christian Church. This glossary provides explanations of concepts as they were expressed in Latin pertaining to religious practices and beliefs, with links to articles on major topics such as priesthoods, forms of divination, and rituals.
The Amburbium was an ancient Roman festival for purifying the city; that is, a lustration (lustratio urbis). It took the form of a procession, perhaps along the old Servian Wall, though the length of 10 kilometers would seem impractical to circumambulate. If it was a distinct festival held annually, the most likely month is February, but no date is recorded and the ritual may have been performed as a "crisis rite" when needed.
Publius Cornelius Scipio was a priest of the Roman Republic, who belonged to the prominent family of the Cornelii Scipiones. He was the grandson of Scipio Africanus and son of P. Cornelius Scipio. He is only known from an inscription found in the Tomb of the Scipios, which tells that he was flamen Dialis, the prestigious priest of Jupiter.
