REX SACRORUM The Rex Sacrorum ("King of Sacred Things") was
a Roman pontiff. The position was created during the early Republic to
take the place of the former kings, inasmuch as their office had
included priestly functions as well as secular rulership, and these
functions needed to be fulfilled regardless of a shift from monarchy to
republic Thus, although the office wielded considerably less influence
than the Pontifex Maximus (who appointed successive Reges to life
terms), it nevertheless was by far the more prestigious position and
was nominally the highest-ranking priest in
Roman religion. His wife, the Regina Sacrorum, also held an important
position in Roman religion. The Rex Sacrorum was forbidden to hold
political office, out of concern that a politically active Rex might be
in a position to revive the ancient monarchy. The Rex Sacrorum was the
special priest of Janus, one of the chief gods of the Roman state, but
also sacrificed to Jupiter. Other Latin towns, including Tusculum,
Lavinium, and Velitrae, had similar positions, probably dating to the
overthrow of their own kings, and in Athens, one of the archons (archon
basileus) was designated as a sacral king each year.
- Papirius......................................509 BCE- ?
- Papirius may have been the
first rex sacrorum after the ouster of the kings. He was a Roman
pontifex to whom is ascribed a collection of laws constituting the
Roman code under the kings - Ius Papirianum or Ius Civile Papirianum.
- ??
- Lucius Postumius Albainus.........................fl. 275
- ?
- Marcus Marcius.................................... ? -210
- Some confusion exists over
this person. The Marcii of historical times were not a patrician gens.
Therefore some scholars have denied that this Marcus could have served
as Rex Sacrorum. Others argue that he was the first (and possibly only)
plebian to hold the position. A third view holds that he belonged to a
patrician branch of the Marcii that had died out by the late Republican
period.
- Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella.........................208-180
- ?
- Gaius Caesar ?
- A description of a banquet
held in honor of the inauguration of a new flamen Martialis, Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus Niger, in the early first century BCE lists among
the attendees "Gaius Caesar, rex sacrorum." No member of Julii Caesares
is known to have held the office during this period. Therefore, most
scholars believe that the list is incomplete and the list actually
refers to an unnamed rex.
- Lucius Claudius....................................fl. 50's BCE
- ?
- During the Imperial
period, the political restrictions on this office were loosened. Thus
Gnaeus Pinarius Cornelius Severus, rex sacrorum under Trajan, also was
able to serve as consul.
- Gaius Hosidius Geta....................................40's CE ?
- ?
- Gnaeus Pinarius Cornelius Severus..................fl. 110's
- ??
- The position continued until abolished by Theodosius I in 390 CE
VIRGO VESTALIS MAXIMA (Chief of the Order of Vestal Virgins)
The Vestal Virgins (six in number throughout most of Roman history, although
there were seven by the 4th century CE) were an Order of priestesses attendent
to Vesta, Goddess of hearth and home. Unique within the Roman state religion,
they were the only organized female sacerdotal order, and their chief (Virgo
Vestalis Maxima) was the only female member of the College of Pontifices
(the council of all the senior priests). Furthermore, in a culture in which
women were chattals (without even so much as personal names), under perpetual
authority of husband or most senior male relative, Vestal Virgins could
own property, make wills, and vote in public elections. Regarded as being
incapable of lying, they could give evidence without the usual oaths. Their
person was sacrosanct - to injure or kill a Vestal Virgin was to commit
treason. Their mere presence blessed the area around them - inasmuch as
Vesta was the patroness of Innocence, a prisoner or slave could be freed
if a priestess so much as touched them, and a condemned person being dragged
to their execution was automatically pardoned if they chanced to encounter
a Priestess along the way. Their responsibilities were awesome; they were
the intercessors to the Goddess of the Homeland and, beyond the full panoply
of ceremonies and festivals (culminating each year with the Vestalia on
June 9), their chief office was the maintenance of the sacred and perpetual
Fire of Vesta - should the Flame be extinguished for any reason, it was
a sign that Vesta had turned Her face from Rome, and that the State would
begin to wither and eventual die. They were a celibate order, to have sexual
relations with a Vestal Virgin was to commit a double crime of both treason
and (as they were Daughters of the State) incest. A virgin found to be
unchaste was buried alive in the Campus Scleratus - but note; given that
killing a Priestess, even a polluted one, was itself an act of treason,
they were not simply thrown in a hole, but immurred in a doorless chamber
with a few days-worth of food and water. They served their office for obligatory
terms of thirty years, after which they could continue for life, or leave
the Order and marry - few did so, since that would entail losing their
unique privileges and surrendering to the authority of their husband like
any ordinary Roman matron.
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Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Gegania............................................fl. c. 700 BCE with...
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Venenia............................................fl. c. 700 BCE and....
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Canuleia...........................................fl. c. 700 BCE and...
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Tarpeia............................................fl. c. 700 BCE and...
-
??
- Sextilia........................................... ? -274
- Caparronia.........................................274- ?
- ?
- Opimia.............................................fl. 218
- Æmilia I...........................................fl. 180
- ?
-
Æmilia II.......................................... ? -114
- Popillia........................................... ? -98
- Perpennia...........................................97- ?
-
??
-
Fabia..............................................fl. 50
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Appuleia......................................fl. 40's-30's
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Occia...........................................38 BCE-19 CE
-
A remarkable woman; she presided over the Order for
an astonishing 57 years - she must have been in her 80's or perhaps even
90's at her death. Her tenure saw the creation of the Triumvirate which
ended once and for all the Civil War, and soon after the elevation of Octavian
to Augustus, establishing the Empire - further, she saw the entirety of
his long reign, dying in the 5th year of his successor Tiberius.
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Junia Torquata I....................................19-48
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Vibidia.............................................48-
?
- Junia Torquata II..................................fl. 55
-
?
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Cornelia...........................................fl.
90
-
Cornelia was found
guilty of violating her oath of chastity and was buried alive by order
of Emperor Domitian.
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Calpurnia Prætextata
-
??
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Numisia Maximillia.................................fl.
c. 200
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Terentia Favola....................................fl.
c. 215
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Campia Severina....................................fl.
c. 240
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Flavia Mamilia.....................................fl.
c. 242
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Flavia Publica.....................................fl.
c. 247
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Cloelia Claudiana..................................fl.
c. 286
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Terentia Rufilla...................................fl.
c. 300
-
?
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Coelia Concordia................................c. 380-394
d. 406
-
Coelia was the last known Chief Vestal. In 394 the
Christian emperor Theodosius I extinguished the Vestal's sacred flame and
disbanded their order. Theodosius' niece Serena, according to Zosimus,
removed the sacred necklace of the goddess Vesta and wore it herself as
an ornament. For what it's worth, the Roman State was partitioned into
an Eastern Empire at Byzantium and a Western Empire at Rome the very next
year - the Western Empire immediately began losing territory: by 450 it
consisted mostly of Italy, part of the Dalmatian coast, and a fragment
of northern Gaul, and disappeared entirely between 476 and 487.