Flamen Dialis
Encyclopedia
In ancient Roman religion
, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. There were 15 flamines
, of which 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 office of Flamen Dialis, and the offices of the other flamines maiores, were traditionally said to have been created by Numa Pompilius
, second king of Rome
, although Numa himself performed many of the rites of the Flamen Dialis.
(the strictest form of Roman marriage), were nominated by the Comitia, one of whom was selected (captus), and consecrated (inaugurabatur) by the Pontifex Maximus
. From that time forward he was emancipated from the control of his father, and became sui juris. He alone of all priests wore the apex, he had a right to a lictor
, to the toga praetexta, the Sella Curulis, and to a seat in the Roman senate
in virtue of his office. This last privilege, after having been suffered to fall into disuse for a long period, was asserted by C. Valerius Flaccus (209 BC
), the claim allowed however, says Livy
, more in deference to his high personal character than from a conviction of the justice of the demand. The Rex Sacrificulus or Rex Sacrorum
alone was entitled to recline above him at a banquet; if one in bonds took refuge in his house, the chains were immediately struck off and conveyed through the impluvium to the roof, and thence cast down into the street: if a criminal on his way to punishment met him, and fell suppliant at his feet, he was respited for that day, similar right of sanctuary attached to the persons and dwellings of the papal cardinals
.
from the works of Fabius Pictor and Masurius Sabinus
, while Plutarch
, in his Roman Questions, endeavours to explain their import. Among these were the following:
It was unlawful for him to be out of the city for a single night; a regulation which seems to have been modified by Augustus, insofar that an absence of two nights was permitted; and he was forbidden to sleep out of his own bed for three nights consecutively. Thus, it was impossible for him to undertake the government of a province. He might not mount or even touch a horse, touch iron, or look at an army marshalled outside the pomerium
, or be elected to the consulship. Indeed, it would seem that originally he was altogether precluded from seeking or accepting any civil magistracy; but this last prohibition was certainly not enforced in later times.
The Flamen Dialis was required to wear certain unusual garments, such as the apex, a point-tipped hat, and a laena, a heavy wool cloak.
The object of these rules was clearly to make him literally Jovi adsiduum sacerdotem (the constant priest of Jove), to compel constant attention to the duties of the priesthood, and to leave him effectively without any temptation to neglect them. The origins of the following superstitions are not so clear, but there is speculation in Plutarch, Festus
, and Pliny the Elder
.
He was not allowed to swear an oath, nor to wear a ring nisi pervio et cass, that is, as they explain it, unless plain and without stones; nor to strip himself naked in the open air, nor to go out without his proper head-dress, nor to have a knot in any part of his attire, nor to walk along a path over-canopied by vines. He might not touch flour, nor leaven, nor leavened bread, nor a dead body: he might not enter a burial place, but was not prevented from attending a funeral. He was forbidden either to touch or to name a dog, a she-goat, ivy
, beans, or raw flesh. None but a free man might cut his hair; the clippings of which, together with the parings of his nails, were buried beneath a felix arbor. No one might sleep in his bed, the legs of which were smeared with fine clay; and it was unlawful to place a box containing sacrificial cakes in contact with the bedstead.
In the view of Dumézil, these prohibitions mark the Flamen Dialis as serving a heavenly god, with his attributes of absolute purity and freedom, but also wielder of lightning and kingship. Within in his scope of action there are the domains of political power and right, but not battle, which belongs to Mars. His solidarity with the king is reflected in that of his earthly counterpart, the rex, with the Flamen Dialis. Such a partnership has parallels in other Indo-European cultures, such as that of the Vedic raja
n and his purohita and the ancient Irish rig and the chief druid.
, the traditional form of marriage for patricians. (This regulation also applied to the marriages of the two other flamines maiores
.) The couple were not permitted to divorce, and if the flaminica died the Dialis was obliged to resign.
The assistance of the flaminica was essential in the performance of certain rituals. On each of the nundinae, she sacrificed a ram to Jupiter
in the Regia
.
The flaminica was assigned a special ritual attire. Her hair was plaited up with a purple band in a conical form (tutulus), but when she went to participate in the ritual of the Argei
, she neither combed nor arranged her hair. The flaminica and the regina sacrorum were the only ones who might wear the hairdressing named (in)arculata.
The flaminica wore a dyed robe (venenato operitur) and a small square cloth with a border (rica), to which was attached a slip cut from a felix arbor, a tree under the protection of the heavenly gods. The rica may have been a short cloak, or less likely a sort of scarf or veil thrown over the head.
The restrictions imposed upon the flaminica were similar to those placed on her husband. She was prohibited from mounting a staircase consisting of more than three steps, perhaps to prevent her ankles from being seen.
was chosen consul suffectus
on the expulsion of Lucius Cornelius Cinna
, and, upon the restoration of the Marian faction, shed his own blood in the sanctuary (87 BC
), calling down curses on his enemies with his dying breath. After his death the priesthood remained vacant until the consecration of Servius Maluginensis
under Augustus, then Pontifex Maximus.
The exact date when Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis became Flamen Dialis is disputed. Dio 54.36 says it was about 11 BC, a date accepted by many modern scholars. But Tacitus Ann. 3.58 indicates that the date was 72 years after the suicide of Cornelius Cinna (87 BC). Some modern translators (including Penguin's Rex Warner, but not Wood) change Tacitus to match Dio instead of vice versa, even though Tacitus is the more reliable historian. Gaius Stern asserts that Tacitus is probably correct, meaning that Maluginensis became Flamen Dialis while Lepidus was Pontifex Maximus (16/15 BC), so that Lepidus had to supervise his inauguration at Augustus' direction, possibly unwillingly.
Julius Caesar
was nominated to be Flamen Dialis in 84 BC. Many scholars think he was not installed, although it seems unlikely that the Romans would allow a nominee to wait years without inauguration. When Sulla returned to Italy in 82, he proscribed Caesar and stripped him of his priesthood (which implies that he had indeed been inaugurated). No successor was selected. During the vacancy that followed (c. 82 to c. 16 or later), the duties of the office were discharged by others.
This article is based on a portion of the article "Flamen" in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, in the public domain.
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. There were 15 flamines
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
, of which 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 office of Flamen Dialis, and the offices of the other flamines maiores, were traditionally said to have been created by Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
, second king of Rome
King of Rome
The King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
, although Numa himself performed many of the rites of the Flamen Dialis.
Privileges and honors
The Flamen Dialis enjoyed many peculiar honours. When a vacancy occurred, three persons of patrician descent, whose parents had been married according to the ceremonies of confarreatioConfarreatio
In ancient Rome, confarreatio was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of spelt, 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...
(the strictest form of Roman marriage), were nominated by the Comitia, one of whom was selected (captus), and consecrated (inaugurabatur) by the Pontifex Maximus
Pontifex Maximus
The Pontifex Maximus was the 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 occupied this post...
. From that time forward he was emancipated from the control of his father, and became sui juris. He alone of all priests wore the apex, he had a right to a lictor
Lictor
The lictor was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium, the right and power to command; essentially, a bodyguard...
, to the toga praetexta, the Sella Curulis, and to a seat in the Roman senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
in virtue of his office. This last privilege, after having been suffered to fall into disuse for a long period, was asserted by C. Valerius Flaccus (209 BC
209 BC
Year 209 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verrucosus and Flaccus...
), the claim allowed however, says Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, more in deference to his high personal character than from a conviction of the justice of the demand. The Rex Sacrificulus or Rex Sacrorum
Rex Sacrorum
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 priests, the rex sacrorum was of highest prestige, followed by the flamines...
alone was entitled to recline above him at a banquet; if one in bonds took refuge in his house, the chains were immediately struck off and conveyed through the impluvium to the roof, and thence cast down into the street: if a criminal on his way to punishment met him, and fell suppliant at his feet, he was respited for that day, similar right of sanctuary attached to the persons and dwellings of the papal cardinals
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
.
Restrictions
To counterbalance these high honours, the Dialis was subjected to many restrictions and privations, a long catalogue of which was compiled by Aulus GelliusAulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius , was a Latin author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office...
from the works of Fabius Pictor and Masurius Sabinus
Masurius Sabinus
Masurius Sabinus, also Massurius, was a Roman jurist who lived in the time of Tiberius . Unlike most jurists of the time, he was not of senatorial rank and was admitted to the equestrian order only rather late in life, by virtue of his exceptional ability and imperial patronage...
, while Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, in his Roman Questions, endeavours to explain their import. Among these were the following:
It was unlawful for him to be out of the city for a single night; a regulation which seems to have been modified by Augustus, insofar that an absence of two nights was permitted; and he was forbidden to sleep out of his own bed for three nights consecutively. Thus, it was impossible for him to undertake the government of a province. He might not mount or even touch a horse, touch iron, or look at an army marshalled outside the pomerium
Pomerium
The pomerium or pomoerium , was the sacred boundary of the city of Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within the pomerium; everything beyond it was simply territory belonging to Rome.-Location and extensions:Tradition maintained that it was the original line ploughed by Romulus around the...
, or be elected to the consulship. Indeed, it would seem that originally he was altogether precluded from seeking or accepting any civil magistracy; but this last prohibition was certainly not enforced in later times.
The Flamen Dialis was required to wear certain unusual garments, such as the apex, a point-tipped hat, and a laena, a heavy wool cloak.
The object of these rules was clearly to make him literally Jovi adsiduum sacerdotem (the constant priest of Jove), to compel constant attention to the duties of the priesthood, and to leave him effectively without any temptation to neglect them. The origins of the following superstitions are not so clear, but there is speculation in Plutarch, Festus
Festus
Festus is a Latin word meaning "festive, festal, joyful, merry" and may refer to:* Festus, Missouri, a town in the United States*Festus, a poem by the English poet Philip James Bailey*Drew Hankinson, professional wrestler...
, and Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
.
He was not allowed to swear an oath, nor to wear a ring nisi pervio et cass, that is, as they explain it, unless plain and without stones; nor to strip himself naked in the open air, nor to go out without his proper head-dress, nor to have a knot in any part of his attire, nor to walk along a path over-canopied by vines. He might not touch flour, nor leaven, nor leavened bread, nor a dead body: he might not enter a burial place, but was not prevented from attending a funeral. He was forbidden either to touch or to name a dog, a she-goat, ivy
Ivy
Ivy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...
, beans, or raw flesh. None but a free man might cut his hair; the clippings of which, together with the parings of his nails, were buried beneath a felix arbor. No one might sleep in his bed, the legs of which were smeared with fine clay; and it was unlawful to place a box containing sacrificial cakes in contact with the bedstead.
In the view of Dumézil, these prohibitions mark the Flamen Dialis as serving a heavenly god, with his attributes of absolute purity and freedom, but also wielder of lightning and kingship. Within in his scope of action there are the domains of political power and right, but not battle, which belongs to Mars. His solidarity with the king is reflected in that of his earthly counterpart, the rex, with the Flamen Dialis. Such a partnership has parallels in other Indo-European cultures, such as that of the Vedic raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
n and his purohita and the ancient Irish rig and the chief druid.
Flaminica Dialis
The Flaminica Dialis was the wife of the Flamen Dialis. She was required to be a virgin at the time of their wedding, which had to be conducted according to the ceremonies of confarreatioConfarreatio
In ancient Rome, confarreatio was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of spelt, 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...
, the traditional form of marriage for patricians. (This regulation also applied to the marriages of the two other flamines maiores
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
.) The couple were not permitted to divorce, and if the flaminica died the Dialis was obliged to resign.
The assistance of the flaminica was essential in the performance of certain rituals. On each of the nundinae, she sacrificed a ram to Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
in the Regia
Regia
The Regia was a structure in Ancient Rome, located in the Roman Forum. It was originally the residence of the kings of Rome or at least their main headquarters, and later the office of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Roman religion. It occupied a triangular patch of terrain between the...
.
The flaminica was assigned a special ritual attire. Her hair was plaited up with a purple band in a conical form (tutulus), but when she went to participate in the ritual of the Argei
Argei
Argei may refer to:* Argei , ritual figures in ancient Roman religion, and also their shrines* Argei - olive oil manufacturer...
, she neither combed nor arranged her hair. The flaminica and the regina sacrorum were the only ones who might wear the hairdressing named (in)arculata.
The flaminica wore a dyed robe (venenato operitur) and a small square cloth with a border (rica), to which was attached a slip cut from a felix arbor, a tree under the protection of the heavenly gods. The rica may have been a short cloak, or less likely a sort of scarf or veil thrown over the head.
The restrictions imposed upon the flaminica were similar to those placed on her husband. She was prohibited from mounting a staircase consisting of more than three steps, perhaps to prevent her ankles from being seen.
Holders of the office
The flamen Lucius Cornelius MerulaLucius Cornelius Merula (consul 87 BC)
Lucius Cornelius Merula was a politician and priest of the late Roman Republic.He held the office of Flamen Dialis , and wore the flamens cap at all times, unlike the other flamines who only wore it while performing sacrifices.In 87 BC, during the civil war between Marius and Sulla, he was...
was chosen consul suffectus
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
on the expulsion of Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelii gens....
, and, upon the restoration of the Marian faction, shed his own blood in the sanctuary (87 BC
87 BC
Year 87 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavius and Cinna/Merula...
), calling down curses on his enemies with his dying breath. After his death the priesthood remained vacant until the consecration of Servius Maluginensis
Servius Maluginensis
Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis was a Roman patrician who flourished in the reigns of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. He served as consul suffectus in AD 10, alongside Q. Junius Blaesus....
under Augustus, then Pontifex Maximus.
The exact date when Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis became Flamen Dialis is disputed. Dio 54.36 says it was about 11 BC, a date accepted by many modern scholars. But Tacitus Ann. 3.58 indicates that the date was 72 years after the suicide of Cornelius Cinna (87 BC). Some modern translators (including Penguin's Rex Warner, but not Wood) change Tacitus to match Dio instead of vice versa, even though Tacitus is the more reliable historian. Gaius Stern asserts that Tacitus is probably correct, meaning that Maluginensis became Flamen Dialis while Lepidus was Pontifex Maximus (16/15 BC), so that Lepidus had to supervise his inauguration at Augustus' direction, possibly unwillingly.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
was nominated to be Flamen Dialis in 84 BC. Many scholars think he was not installed, although it seems unlikely that the Romans would allow a nominee to wait years without inauguration. When Sulla returned to Italy in 82, he proscribed Caesar and stripped him of his priesthood (which implies that he had indeed been inaugurated). No successor was selected. During the vacancy that followed (c. 82 to c. 16 or later), the duties of the office were discharged by others.
This article is based on a portion of the article "Flamen" in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, in the public domain.