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Flamen

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A flamen (plural flamines)[1] 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 (or "major priests"), who served the important Roman gods Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores ("lesser priests"). 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 (divus) 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 pontifex could serve as a temporary replacement, although only the pontifex maximus is known to have substituted for the Flamen Dialis, one of the flamines maiores.

Etymology

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The etymology of flamen remains obscure, and perhaps undecidable.[2] 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".[3][4][5] 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.[4][5]

Indo-European scholar G. Dumézil attempted to link the term to the Sanskrit word brahman.[a] Dumézil himself notes that the etymology has problems in terms of phonological shifts, and the cognates have not been universally accepted by modern scholars.[7][5][b] 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.[2]

History

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At the time of the religious reformation by Augustus, the origins and functions of a number of 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 scholars[who?] assume that the flamines 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 flamines maiores and assigned them each a fine robe of office and a curule chair.[11] The flamines 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.[12] By attaining such a position, the flamines were not permitted to run or hold a political office. There may have been flamines appointed to stop their political progression for reasons such as making enemies or simply jealousy.[13]

In post-Antiquity usage, the designation "flamen" can apply, by extension, to priests in general.[14]

Appointment

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The flamen was a prestigious role within Roman society and religion. The selection process was difficult for those wishing to be chosen as flamen. The Flamen Dialis was appointed by the Pontifex Maximus. By the Pontifical College, three nominations were given to the pontifex maximus, 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."[15] 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 appropriate deities for a 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.[16]

Privileges and disadvantages

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The flaminate granted its holders considerable privileges in Roman society. 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 flamines possessed. According to Cyril Bailey, these include: exemption from the Patria Potestas (lit. power of the father); permission to wear the toga praetexta; having a lictor of his own; sitting on the curule chair; possession of an ex officio place in the Senate.[17]

The flamines, along with other members of the religious orders of Rome, were in charge of protecting the city's sacred objects. An anecdote accounted in Livy reports that before the sack of Rome in 390 BCE, the flamines evacuated from the city with their sacred items in an attempt to protect them, and debated burying the items they could not carry near their temple precincts.[18] Ralph Mathisen writes, "Their sacred cult should not be abandoned as long as a single person survived to observe it".[19]

The flamines were held to particularly strict standards of behavioural purity, particularly concerning associations with pollution and death.[20] One extreme example concerned the wife of the flamen Dialis, the flaminica Dialis, who were not allowed to wear calcei morticini, "shoes made from the skin of an animal that had died of natural causes."[21]

Another disadvantage for the flamen and flaminica Dialis was that they "were also forbidden to touch, see, or refer to yeast, raw meat, goats, dogs, ivy, or beans".[22] Most of these items were associated with pollution (yeast, dogs) or death (beans, raw meat).[21] The flamen and flaminica Dialis were also required "to remain free of physical and social constraints".[23]

Marriage

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Representation of Fulvia Celera, a flaminica from the city of Tarraco who lived between the I and II CE.

The major flaminates were conjugal offices, requiring the service of a married couple, and were restricted to patrician families. Both the parents of a flamen, and the flamen himself, had to be have been married through the ancient ceremony of confarreatio.[24] This parental criterion only applied to the flamen, as his wife became part of his family through marriage.[25] Through the ritual of confarreatio, the bride passed from the manus (hand) of her father to that of her new husband. This transferred her father's authority to her husband.[24] It was necessary for a potential flaminica to have been previously unwed before her marriage to her husband.[26]

The flamen and the flaminica Dialis served jointly; in the case of either's death, the surviving spouse had to step down from their position. The flamen and flaminica Dialis were not permitted to separate or divorce.[27] 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.[17] Other restrictions placed upon the flamen and flaminica Dialis pertained to their marital bed: only the married couple were allowed to sleep in this bed, and neither spouse could avoid sleeping in the bed for more than three consecutive nights.[28] The end of this bed was lined with "a thin layer of clay."[29]

Garb

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The official costume of a flamen Dialis, allegedly of great antiquity, consisted of a hat, called an albogalerus, and a heavy cloak, called a laena.[30] The laena was a double-thick wool cloak with a fringed edge, and was worn over the flamen's toga praetexta with a clasp to hold it around his throat.[31] The albogalerus was a leather skull-cap with a chin-strap and a point of olive wood, the apex, on its top. The apex was shaped like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle.[32] This was the traditional outfit worn during rituals and sacrifices performed by the flamen. The flamen would not wear the laena on a daily occurrence. The flamen also wore senatorial boots, calcei.[30] The flaminica Dialis was responsible for weaving her husband's laena. The cloak was hand-spun and a ritual blade, known as a secespikta, was used in the process.[30] The laena had to be made of wool, possibly because of wool's apotropaic qualities and association with purity.[30]

Duties and obligations

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The duties of the flamen and the flaminica Dialis were not interchangeable, even where the nature of the ritual was similar. The flaminica Dialis was required to sacrifice a ram to Jupiter on nundinae, market-days, in the regia at Rome, whereas the flamen Dialis was required to sacrifice a ram to Jupiter on the ides.[33]

The flaminate of the flamen and flaminica Dialis was particularly associated with nuptial duties.[12]

Flamines maiores

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The three flamines maiores were required to be patricians, and were accompanied by a corollary flaminica, occupied by the flamen's wife.

  • The Flamen Dialis oversaw the cult of Jupiter Capitolinus, deity of the heavens and ruler of the gods.
  • The Flamen Martialis 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 Flamen Quirinalis oversaw the cult of Quirinus, associated with Roman societal organization and possibly related to the peaceful aspect of Mars. The flamen and flaminica Quirinalis led public rites on the days sacred to Quirinus.

A fourth flamen maior was dedicated to Julius Caesar as a divinity (divus) of the Roman state.[34] 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;[35] see Imperial cult.

A flamen could also be represented by a proflamen, or by a member without that title who could act as a substitute for the flamen (qui vice flaminis fungebatur).[36]

Flamines minores

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Flamines, distinguished by their pointed apices, as part of a procession on the Augustan Altar of Peace

The twelve flamines minores could be plebeians.[37] Some of the deities whose cult they tended were rather obscure, and only ten are known by name:

There were two other flamines minores during the Republican period, but the names of the deities they worshipped 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.[citation needed]

The Floralis and Pomonalis are not recorded in calendars as their festivals were moveable. Some information exists for the ritual roles of the Portunalis in connection with the cult of the god Quirinus and Volcanalis in connexion with the cult of the goddess Maia on the Kalends of May.[38] Also preserved is the list of deities invoked by the flamen Cerialis when he officiated at sacrifices to the goddesses Ceres and Tellus.[39]

Scholars disagree about some differences among flamines maiores and minores. Some maintain the difference was not substantial.[40] Others, among them Dumézil,[41] believe that inherent differences lay in the right of the auspicia maiora and the ritual of inauguration that concerned only the maiores[42] by birth as farreati, that is, as children of parents married through the ritual of confarreatio, which was the form of marriage in turn required for maiores. The maiores also had the privilege of having calatores, assistants who carried out day-to-day business.[43] The difference would thus be akin to that between magistracies with imperium and those with potestas only.[citation needed]

Notes

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  1. ^ "The Sanskrit brahman ... must derive, with reverse guna, from *bhelgh-men- or *bholgh-men-. The Latin flamen must derive from a neighboring form, *bhlagh-smen-, which, along with forms having the radical -el- or - ol-, presents the same shift." — Dumézil[6]
  2. ^ Dumézil was aware of the technical difficulties, but defended the weak link based on the broader grounds, that the nexus between bráhman / flamen was part of a pair of dyadic terms, the other being Skt. ráj- / Latin rēg-, which were key roles in his hypothetical tripartite ideology underpinning Indo-Europeans' social organization. He claimed this comparative sociological framework strengthened the claimed cognate identities between the two pairs of terms.[8][9][10]

Citations

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  1. ^ "Flamen | Definition of Flamen by Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b 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.’
  3. ^ Hellquist, Elof (1922). "blota". Svensk Etymologisk Ordbok – via runeberg.org.
  4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic. Brill. p. 70. ISBN 978-90-04-18340-7.
  5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2018). Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16797-1.
  6. ^ Dumézil, G. (1988) [1940]. Mitra-Varuna. Translated by Coltman, D. New York, NY: Zone Books. p. 26.
  7. ^ Segal, Robert A. (1996). Structuralism in Myth: Lévi-Strauss, Barthes, Dumézil, and Propp. Taylor & Francis. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-8153-2260-3. Dumézil ... attempted to relate philologically the words Flamen and Brahman. This has not been generally accepted, but the cultural comparisons ... are certainly suggestive.
  8. ^ Dumézil, G. (1938). La préhistorire des flamens majeurs. reprinted in
    Dumézil, G. (1969). Idées romaines (2nd ed.). Gallimard. pp. 155–166, esp. 158.
  9. ^ Dumézil, G. (1968). Mythe et epopee. Vol. 1. Gallimard. pp. 12–16.
  10. ^ Dumézil, G. (1974). La religion romaine archaïque. Gallimard. pp. 94–97.
  11. ^ Livy, Ab urbe condita, 1:20
  12. ^ a b DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. pp. 32–33.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Charles (Winter 2015). "Priests and Politicians: rex sacrorum and flamen Dialis in the Middle Republic". Phoenix. 69 (3): 334–354. doi:10.7834/phoenix.69.3-4.0334. S2CID 163251922.
  14. ^ "flamen". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  15. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. pp. 19–20.
  16. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 22.
  17. ^ a b Bailey, Cyril (1972). Phases in the Religion of Ancient Rome. Greenwood Press Publishers. p. 155.
  18. ^ Livy, Ab urbe condita, 5.40.1.
  19. ^ Mathisen, Ralph (2019). Ancient Roman Civilization:History and Sources 753 BCE to 640 CE. Oxford University Press. p. 103.
  20. ^ [citation needed]
  21. ^ a b DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. pp. 34–35.
  22. ^ DiLuzio, M. 2016, pp. 35
  23. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 36.
  24. ^ a b DeLizuo, Meghan (2016). A Place at the Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 20.
  25. ^ Goldberg, Charles (Winter 2015). "Priests and Politicians: rex sacrorum and flamen Dialis in the Middle Republic". Phoenix. 69 (3): 334–354. doi:10.7834/phoenix.69.3-4.0334. S2CID 163251922.
  26. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 21.
  27. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. pp. 32–33.
  28. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan. (2016) p. 34.
  29. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 31.
  30. ^ a b c d DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 37.
  31. ^ Maurus Servius Honoratus, Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil iv.262; Cicero Brutus 14.56.
  32. ^ Servius Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil ii.683, viii.664, x.270.
  33. ^ DiLuzio, Meghan (2016). A Place at The Altar. Princeton University Press. p. 43.
  34. ^ Caesar's first flamen was Mark Antony.
  35. ^ Caesar may have been granted an active flamen while living; the evidence is equivocal.
  36. ^ A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890) (eds. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin)[permanent dead link].
  37. ^ Seindal, René. "flamines maiores". Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  38. ^ Fest. p.321 L1 s.v. "persillum"; Macrob. Sat. I,12, 18
  39. ^ The lost treatise De jure pontificio by Quintus Fabius Pictor had contained the list, which was in turn recorded by Varro and through Servius later preserved by Augustine in the De civitate Dei.
  40. ^ Kurt Latte, Roemische Religionsgeschichte 1960, pp. 36-37
  41. ^ G. Dumezil La religion romaine archaique Paris, 1974, Consideratons preliminaires, XI
  42. ^ Gaius 1, 112; Aulus Gellius 13, 15 quoting Messala De Auspicis; Festus p. 274-275 L2.
  43. ^ Fest. p. 354 L2; Jörg Rüpke, Religion of the Romans (Polity Press, 2007, originally published in German 2001), p. 227 online.

Sources

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