Flamen

Flamines on the Ara Pacis frieze wearing the galerus with apex.

The flamen (plural: flamines) was a class of priest in ancient Rome assigned to the care of a particular deity or cult. Flamines formed an important part of the Roman state religion and performed regular sacrifices, rites, and festivals on behalf of the community being mythologised into core identity by the claim that the flamines were instituted by Romulus and Numa. Each city of Latium had their own Flamies and were appointed by the Pontifex Maximus. The office is best understood as a functional category (priests attached to a cult) rather than a single, uniform magistracy.

Types

There were two broad categories of flamines:

• Flamines maiores — the major flamines were always selected from the patricians favouring impecable blood lines and were attached to the most important state gods. These offices carried the greatest prestige and the most extensive ritual obligations.:

• Flamen Dialis for Jupiter,
• Flamen Martialis for Mars,
• Flamen Quirinalis for Quirinus.

• Flamines minores — the lesser flamines could be selected from amoung the plebians and attached to other deities; there were a larger number of these and their duties and privileges varied by cult and locality.

Duties and ritual role

Flamines performed the regular sacrifices and rites required by their assigned cults, maintained the ritual calendar for those cults, and took part in public religious ceremonies. Their responsibilities included:

• conducting daily and festival sacrifices;
• maintaining sacred objects and ritual implements;
• supervising certain rites that required specialist knowledge or hereditary practice.

Because flamines were tied to specific cults, their duties were often highly prescriptive and governed by traditional rules intended to preserve ritual correctness.

Appointment and social status

Flamines were normally chosen from the patrician class in the early and middle Republic, especially for the flamines maiores. Appointment procedures changed over time; in the later Republic and Empire the pontifical college and political processes influenced nominations and confirmations. The office carried social prestige and, for the major flamines, a range of legal privileges and ceremonial honors.

Ritual restrictions and privileges

Major flamines were subject to numerous taboos and restrictions designed to preserve ritual purity and the proper performance of rites. Examples (varying by office and period) include restrictions on travel, on certain types of contact or dress, and on participation in particular secular activities. In return, flamines — especially the maiores — enjoyed privileges such as special dress, attendance by attendants or lictors on ceremonial occasions, and prominent placement in public religious processions.

Garb and insignia

A distinctive element of flamen identity in Roman art and description is the priestly headgear and associated accoutrements:

• Galerus — a leather skullcap associated with flamines; in some descriptions it is said to be made from the leather of a sacrificial animal and were fastened under the chin.
• Apex — a pointed spike (often of olive wood) fixed to the galerus; the apex is the most characteristic badge of the flamen and is especially associated with the flamines maiores. Ancient reliefs such as those on the Ara Pacis show flamines wearing the galerus with apex, providing the principal visual evidence for this regalia.

Notable examples

• Flamen Dialis — the high priest of Jupiter and the best-known flamen because of the office’s distinctive taboos and its appearance in literary sources.
• Flamen Martialis and **Flamen Quirinalis** — the other two flamines maiores, each attached to an important Roman deity.

Historical development

The institution of the flamines is ancient and traditionally attributed to early Roman religious reform. Over the Republic and Empire the number, selection, and social role of flamines evolved with broader changes in Roman religion and politics; some offices lapsed or were revived at different times, and imperial cults introduced new priestly roles that interacted with the older flamen system.

See also

• Pontifex Maximus
• Roman religion
• Ara Pacis