Flamen
A flamen (plural flamines) was a Roman priest attached to the cult of a particular deity. The traditional classification distinguished three major flamines—of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus—and twelve minor ones. Their duties differed according to the cult; they did not all perform an identical set of rites.
Roman writers traced the major priesthoods to King Numa, but this account cannot be checked against documents from the regal period. The major offices were associated with patrician families in Republican tradition. Priests of deified rulers appeared in the imperial age; they should not simply be added to the ancient group of fifteen as though the institutions had the same origin.
Fragment of a bas-relief with a flamin's head. Marble. Bequest of Adra M. Newell. 1-2 century AD
Flamen's Head,3rd century AD
Flamen's Head,3rd century ADThe flamen of Jupiter (flamen Dialis) was subject to an especially extensive set of ritual rules. Aulus Gellius says that he could not ride a horse, swear an oath or touch certain things, including raw meat. The feet of his bed were to be coated with a thin layer of clay, and he wore a cap outdoors. These rules are known from ancient texts; they need not have remained unchanged throughout Roman history.
The flamen's distinctive headgear was called an apex. Its details and materials should be reconstructed from specific images and finds rather than assumed from a modern replica. The priest's wife, the flaminica, also took part in Jupiter's cult. According to Gellius, the flamen Dialis had to resign if she died.
Julius Caesar was designated for the office in his youth, but it is misleading to say without qualification that he actually served as flamen Dialis. The unsupported claim that Nero likewise began his career as a flamen has been removed.
Altar of Augustus Ara Pacis with flamines depicted. Late 1st century BC-Early 1st century AD
Fragment of a bas-relief with a flamingo,2nd century AD.Types of flamines
The three major flamines (flamines maiores) were: - flamen Dialis, attached to Jupiter; - flamen Martialis, attached to Mars; - flamen Quirinalis, attached to Quirinus.
Ancient sources name minor flamines (flamines minores) serving Carmenta, Ceres, Flora, Furrina, Pomona, Portunus, Vulcan and other deities. Evidence for individual offices is uneven: a full list of duties does not survive for each priest. Specific ritual actions should not be deduced merely from the name of a deity.
Sources: Livy, History of Rome 1.20; Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 10.15; Plutarch, Life of Numa 9.
Related topics
Roman men · Pontifex · Augur · Vestal Virgin
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