Flamen
Template:Short description Template:Priesthoods of ancient Rome A {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (plural flamines)<ref name="MerriamWebster">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (or "major priests"), who served the important Roman gods Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The remaining twelve were the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("lesser priests"). Two of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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 ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) also had a flamen.
The fifteen Republican flamens were members of the Pontifical College, who administered state-sponsored religion. When the office of flamen was vacant, a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} could serve as a temporary replacement, although only the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is known to have substituted for the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, one of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
EtymologyEdit
The etymology of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} remains obscure, and perhaps undecidable.<ref name="Sihler" >Andrew Sihler New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford University Press 1995 p.198:’ That such cases are strictly speaking undecidable, so far from calming debate, has seemed to stimulate ering in the scholarly literature.’</ref> The term is traditionally connected with the Proto-Germanic verb *blōtaną ("to sacrifice"; cf. Gothic blotan), by positing a Proto-Indo-European stem *bʰleh₂d-m(e)n- (or *bʰleh₂g-m(e)n-), which could have originally meant "sacrifice".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref> However, the link remains uncertain since it is impossible to decide whether the Latin form reflects an earlier flă-men, flăd-men or flăg-smen.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5"/>
Indo-European scholar G. Dumézil attempted to link the term to the Sanskrit word brahman.Template:Efn Dumézil himself notes that the etymology has problems in terms of phonological shifts, and the cognates have not been universally accepted by modern scholars.<ref> Template:Cite book </ref><ref name=":5"/>Template:Efn Andrew Sihler considers the claim that flamen might be a cognate of the Vedic term to be as plausible. He notes that the hypothesis of a connection to Gothic blotan and via Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₂d-m(e)n- is equally plausible.<ref name="Sihler"/>
HistoryEdit
At the time of the religious reformation by Augustus, the origins and functions of a number of the long-neglected gods resident in Rome were confusing even to the Romans themselves. The obscurity of some of the deities assigned a flamen (for example Falacer, Palatua, Quirinus and Volturnus) suggests that the office dated back to Archaic Rome. Some scholarsTemplate:Who assume that the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} existed at least from the time of the early Roman kings, prior to the establishment of the Republic. The Romans themselves credited the foundation of the priesthood to Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. According to Livy, Numa created the offices of the three {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and assigned them each a fine robe of office and a curule chair.<ref>Livy, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 1:20</ref> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were circumscribed by multiple taboos.
The flamen was a sacred position within Roman society; however, it could be used for political purposes. Certain people could be appointed as flamines to stop them from gaining power. For example, flamines were not allowed to ride a horse; therefore, this would make it extremely difficult for such a person to lead and command an army.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> By attaining such a position, the flamines were not permitted to run or hold a political office. There may have been flamines appointed simply to stop their progression in power and politics for reasons such as making enemies or simply jealousy.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref>
In post-Antiquity usage, the designation "flamen" can apply, by extension, to priests in general.<ref> Template:Oed </ref>
AppointmentEdit
The flamen was a high position within Roman society and religion. Therefore, the selection process was difficult for those wishing to be chosen as flamen. In the case of the Flamen Dialis, they were appointed by the Pontifex Maximus. By the Pontifical College, three nominations were given to the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, those whom Romans believed to be the most worthy of such position. The Pontifex Maximus did not just select a new Flamen Dialis, but "scrutinized each candidate's qualifications in order to ensure that he and his wife were fit to serve."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After the flamen and his wife were chosen, they then had to participate in a Roman tradition and ceremony known as captio. This ceremony was performed by an augur. It was the augur's job to make sure the gods would accept the new flamen. This was done by asking for the king of the gods, Jupiter's blessing, and the gods would respond by providing the proper signs to the people. These ceremonies were known as comitia calata ("callate assemblies") and they were performed on the Capitoline Hill.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Privileges and disadvantagesEdit
Such a position in Roman society came with multiple privileges which in turn gave flamines a unique power. In law and criminal courts, the flamen wielded great power. When a person was deemed a criminal, they could appeal to a flamen, who had the power of pardoning criminals. There were also several other privileges that the flamen possessed. According to Cyril Bailey these include: exemption from the Patria Potestas (lit. power of the father) of his father; the wearing of the toga praetexta; and, the privileges of having a lictor of his own, of sitting on the curule chair, and having an ex officio place in the Senate.<ref name=":04">Template:Cite book</ref> During the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BCE, the flamines were also given a special task. In an attempt to preserve Roman culture and history, the flamines and other religious orders such as the vestals were in charge of the sacred and religious items of Rome. Their objective was to take these treasures out of Rome so they would not be destroyed by the Gauls. Ralph Mathisen writes, "Their sacred cult should not be abandoned as long as a single person survived to observe it".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The flamines were also prohibited from a number of different actions and rituals. In the case of death, flamines were in charge of performing ritual sacrificing. However, other than that, contact with anything related to death was prohibited so that the flamen could partake in his religious duties. One extreme example was in the case of the flamen's wife (Latin, flaminica). They were not allowed to wear Calcei Morticini, "shoes made from the skin of an animal that had died of natural causes." Since the animal was not part of a religious ritual or offered to the gods, these shoes would be seen as impure and disrespectful to the gods.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref>
Another disadvantage for the flamines was that they "were also forbidden to touch, see, or refer to yeast, raw meat, goats, dogs, ivy, or beans," because it was thought that these could interfere with the flamen's religious practices. Most of these were associated with unsanitariness or death. When these flamines would have to perform ritual sacrifices, it was almost impossible for the flamen to avoid contact with raw meat. However, Roman accounts do not include such events in their writings.<ref name=":3" /> Another thing flamines were forbidden from was binding. They could not be bound to anything because it could hinder and jeopardize their position as flamen. Therefore, the only bind they were tied to was their religious position and priesthood.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
MarriageEdit
A flamen had to be married. The flamen and his wife, the flaminica, were required to be patricians, and their parents had to be married through the ancient ceremony of confarreatio. This only applied to the flamen, because when they married his wife would become part of his family.Template:Contradictory inline<ref name=":23">Template:Cite journal</ref> Through the process of confarreatio, the wife would pass from the manus (hand) of her father to the hand of her husband. This transferred the father's authority to her husband who would also become part of the religious cult.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was necessary for the wife to be a virgin and previously unwed before marriage to a prospective flamen.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The flamen and the wife served together. In the case of either's death, the surviving priest would then step down from their position. It was viewed as unlucky to be widowed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The flamen and flaminica could not separate or divorce. The only way to escape a marriage was through death, because, once they attained their positions, they became the property of the deity they were assigned to.<ref name=":13">Template:Cite book</ref> Since they ruled together, they were also responsible for performing certain rituals together. During certain practices and rituals, the flamen and flaminica had to follow certain rules, such as leaving during purification rituals.<ref name=":04"/> Another ritual practiced by the priest and priestess pertained to their bed. Only the flamen and flaminica were allowed to sleep in the bed for ritual reasons, and under no circumstance could they spend the night away from the bed for any longer than three days. This was meant to create and ensure a strong relationship between the couple. The end of the bed was lined with "a thin layer of clay."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
GarbEdit
The official costume of a flamen, allegedly of great antiquity, was a hat called an apex and a heavy cloak called a laena. The laena was a double-thick wool cloak with a fringed edge, and was worn over the flamen's toga with a clasp to hold it around his throat.<ref>Maurus Servius Honoratus, Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil iv.262; Cicero Brutus 14.56.</ref> The apex was a leather skull-cap with a chin-strap and a point of olive wood on its top, like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle.<ref>Servius Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil ii.683, viii.664, x.270.</ref> This was the traditional outfit during a ritual or sacrifice performed by the flamen. The flamen would not wear the laena on a daily occurrence. The flamen would also wear special shoes known as calcei.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref> The flamen dress represented status. Only flamines were able to wear such a costume. It separated them from average citizens, politicians, and military figures. The responsibility for the creation of such a costume fell in the hands of the flaminica. The costume was handmade and a ritual blade known as secespikta was used in the process.<ref name=":4" /> The laena had to be made of wool, because wool was seen as pure and the most appropriate clothing to serve the gods.
Duties and obligationsEdit
The flamen and the flaminica had special roles that could not be done by the other. This position in Roman society was held to a specific standard with strict rules. The flamen could not perform the duties of the flaminica and she could not perform the duties of her husband. One example would be the honour killing and sacrifice of a ram, which was known as an offering to Jupiter and could only be done by the flaminica on market days.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The flamen couldn't perform his sacred duties without the flaminica. These positions of serving the gods were meant to be served together as husband and wife. This was a partnership where each person was dependent on the other. This is why, when one died, the other would have to step down, because they were not allowed to replace their partner or continue by themselves.
Flamines maioresEdit
The three {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were required to be patricians:
- The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} oversaw the cult of Jupiter, the sky deity and ruler of the gods.
- The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} oversaw the cult of Mars, the god of war, leading public rites on the days sacred to Mars. The sacred spears of Mars were ritually shaken by the Flamen Martialis when the legions were preparing for war.
- The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} oversaw the cult of Quirinus, who presided over organized Roman social life and was related to the peaceful aspect of Mars. The Flamen Quirinalis led public rites on the days sacred to Quirinus.
A fourth {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was dedicated to Julius Caesar as a divinity ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) of the Roman state.<ref>Caesar's first flamen was Mark Antony.</ref> Thereafter, any deceased emperor could be made divus by vote of the senate and consent of his successor, and as a divus he would be served by a flamen. The flamen's role in relation to living emperors is uncertain; no living emperor is known to have received official divine worship;<ref>Caesar may have been granted an active flamen while living; the evidence is equivocal.</ref> see Imperial cult.
A flamen could also be represented by a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or by a member without that title who could act as a substitute for the flamen (qui vice flaminis fungebatur).<ref>A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890) (eds. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin)Template:Dead link.</ref>
Flamines minores Template:AnchorEdit
The twelve {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} could be plebeians.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of the deities whose cult they tended were rather obscure, and only ten are known by name:
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the flamen for Carmentis
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Ceres
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Falacer
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Flora
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Furrina
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Palatua
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Pomona
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Portunus
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Vulcan
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, for Volturnus
There were two other {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} during the Republican period, but the names of the deities they cultivated are unknown. The flamines minores seem mostly connected to agriculture or local cults. The change to an urban way of life may explain why these deities lost their importance or fell into oblivion.Template:Citation needed
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are not recorded in calendars as their festivals were moveable. Some information exists for the ritual roles of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in connection with the cult of the god Quirinus and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in connexion with the cult of the goddess Maia on the Kalends of May.<ref>Fest. p.321 L1 s.v. "persillum"; Macrob. Sat. I,12, 18</ref> Also preserved is the list of deities invoked by the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} when he officiated at sacrifices to the goddesses Ceres and Tellus.<ref>The lost treatise {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} by Quintus Fabius Pictor had contained the list, which was in turn recorded by Varro and through Servius later preserved by Augustine in the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.</ref>
Scholars disagree about some differences among {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Some maintain the difference was not substantial.<ref>Kurt Latte, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 1960, pp. 36-37</ref> Others, among them Dumézil,<ref>G. Dumezil La religion romaine archaique Paris, 1974, Consideratons preliminaires, XI</ref> believe that inherent differences lay in the right of the auspicia maiora and the ritual of inauguration that concerned only the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}<ref>Gaius 1, 112; Aulus Gellius 13, 15 quoting Messala {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; Festus p. 274-275 L2.</ref> by birth as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, that is, as children of parents married through the ritual of confarreatio, which was the form of marriage in turn required for {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} also had the privilege of having {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, assistants who carried out day-to-day business.<ref>Fest. p. 354 L2; Jörg Rüpke, Religion of the Romans (Polity Press, 2007, originally published in German 2001), p. 227 online.</ref> The difference would thus be akin to that between magistracies with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and those with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} only.Template:Citation needed
NotesEdit
CitationsEdit
SourcesEdit
Template:Refbegin Template:Refend