A (plural, ) was a specific type of priest (sacerdos) in the ancient Roman religion and one of the oldest classes of the Roman priesthood, with origins likely predating the Republican era. These flamines, of which there were fifteen, were high-ranking members of the College of Pontiffs who administered and oversaw the various cults of the state-sponsored religion, both collectively and individually. The most important of these were the three ("major priests"), who each served one of the gods of the Archaic Triad: Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The remaining twelve ("lesser priests") served various minor deities, of whom little is definitively known, with two of their identities even being forgotten. While these original flamines lost most of their cultural and religious significance by the dawn of the Empire, the term flamen went on to be used in reference to priests of the cults of deified Emperors ().
Etymology
The etymology of remains obscure, and perhaps undecidable. 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". 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. Dumézil himself notes that the etymology has problems in terms of phonological shifts, and the cognates have not been universally accepted by modern scholars. 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.
History
By the time of the religious reformations initiated by Emperor Augustus, the origins and functions of a number of gods resident in Rome were considered confusing and archaic, even to the Romans themselves. The age and relative obscurity of some of the deities assigned a flamen (such as Falacer, Palatua, and Volturnus) suggests that this class of the priesthood dates back to the early days of Rome, at least as far back as the Roman Kingdom. The Romans themselves even credited their foundation to Numa Pompilius, the legendary second King of Rome. According to the historian Livy, in order to fulfill the more intensive religious duties originally performed by the King, Numa created the offices of the three and assigned each a fine robe of office and a curule seat. The were circumscribed by a series of highly restrictive taboos, as in the case of the flamen Dialis, the stability of Rome itself was believed to depend on his continued purity and holiness. In fact, the most detailed surviving records of the flamines often focus on the practices and traditions associated with the flamen Dialis, the highest-ranking and most significant of the flamines.
Some modern scholars have raised the possibility that the roles of the Roman flamines may have extended beyond simply overseeing the cults of their respective deities, even hypothesizing that they may have represented and provided religious services to certain segments of the Roman population. This theory is supported by the existence of a flamen among the Arval Brethren (the flamen Arvalium), as well as the flamines of the thirty ' that divided early Rome (flamines curiales). Based on descriptions from some Roman sources, the three flamines maiores may have collectively represented the entire Roman populace, as evidenced by their common sacrifices to the goddess of faithfulness Fides. By the Republican era, the maiores were collectively invoked both in treaties composed by the fetiales and in the devotio oath taken by generals during times of unrest.
By the Imperial era, the term flamen seems to have mostly been used in reference to the priests of the Imperial cult, whose regulations and standards appear to have been modeled after those of the flamen Dialis. This new incarnation of the priesthood aided in the spread and homogenization of the Imperial cult throughout the growing Roman Empire, with priests being assigned to serve certain cities and provinces, and in some regions specifically dedicated to the cult of Augustus (the divi filius, or more specifically the divi Iuli filius). While these priests were still given the antiquated title of flamen in most provinces and regions, others used the more general and widely-recognized sacerdos (plural, sacerdotes), as was the case with the Sacerdotes Augustales.
In post-Antiquity, the word flamen (plural, "flamens") became a general term for any priest who serves a specific deity.
Appointment
Since the early days of the flaminates, the Roman populace took an active role in the selection of a new flamen, nominating fellow citizens believed to be worthy of the position. Originally these nominations were handled by the Curiate Assembly, the oldest legislative gathering in the city, ultimately selecting and consecrating each new flamen. However, following the passing of the Roman law "Lex Domitia de sacerdotis" ("The Domitian Law Regarding the Priesthood") in 104 BC, which formalized the selection processes for Roman priests, nominations for the flaminates were now handled by the more egalitarian Tribal Assembly. They would then be provided to the pontifex maximus, the head of the Pontifical College, who "scrutinized each candidate's qualifications in order to ensure that he...[was] fit to serve." After a new flamen (and, for maiores, also his wife) was chosen, they then had to participate in a traditional Roman ceremony known as the captio, to ensure the gods would accept this new flamen as their representative to the city. An augur would ask the appropriate deities for a blessing, and the gods would respond by providing the proper signs to those present. These ceremonies were known as comitia calata ("callate assemblies") and they were performed on the Capitoline Hill. In the case of the flamen Dialis, only the pontifex maximus was allowed to fill in for that role.
Privileges and restrictions
The office of the flaminate granted its holders considerable privileges in Roman society. Regarding the justice system, if a criminal submitted himself before a flamen on the way to his punishment, the priest could delay his fate until the following day. Other notable benefits granted to the flamines included: exemption from the authority of his father (patria potestas); permission to wear the toga praetexta; being provided the service of a lictor; ownership and use of a curule seat; and the possession of an ex officio seat in the Senate.
The flamines, like the other various religious orders in Rome, were also entrusted with protecting the city's sacred objects. An anecdote recounted by Livy reports that before the sack of Rome in 390 BC, the flamines escaped the city with their relics, after debating whether to bury anything they could not carry near their temple precincts.
To counterbalance these considerable benefits and honors, the flamines were also held to extremely high standards of behavioral and ritual purity, particularly concerning associations with pollution and death. Such standards even extended to the wives of the flamines, known as the flaminicae. For example, the flaminica Dialis was not allowed to wear calcei morticini ("shoes made from the skin of an animal that had died of natural causes"), and she was even forbidden from washing or combing her hair on certain days of religious significance.
Eventually, many of the more restrictive taboos were loosened so that only the flamen Dialis was required to adhere to them. This may explain why, following the suicide of flamen Dialis Lucius Cornelius Merula in 87 BC, the flaminate remained vacant for over 70 years, until the Imperial reign of Augustus. Coincidentally, a teenage Julius Caesar was once nominated to fill this vacancy.
Marriage
thumb|Representation of Fulvia Celera, a flaminica from the city of [[Tarraco who lived between the I and II CE.]]
The three major flaminates required the service of a married couple that came from an elite patrician family. Both parents of a flamen, as well as the flamen himself, had to have been married through the ancient ceremony of confarreatio, during which the bride would be passed from the manus (hand) of her father to that of her husband, ritually transferring ownership of the bride. The albogalerus was a white 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. This outfit was worn during rituals and sacrifices performed by the flamen, but he was not required or expected to wear it daily. The flamen also wore senatorial boots, called calcei. Some of the deities whose cult they tended were rather obscure, with their purposes evidently being rendered mostly obsolete by the end of the Roman Republic. Only ten are known by name with definitive certainty:
- The oversaw the cult of Carmentis, goddess of childbirth and prophecy, also credited with creating the Latin alphabet.
- The oversaw the cult of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, fertility, and motherhood.
- The oversaw the cult of Falacer, possibly an early Italic god of the sky, as his name may originate from the Etruscan word for "heavens".
- The oversaw the cult of Flora, goddess of springtime and flowers.
- The oversaw the cult of Furrina, possibly a goddess of water, particularly of springs.
- The oversaw the cult of Palatua, a goddess whose original purpose has largely been forgotten. It is only known that she was considered the guardian of the Palatine Hill's southern peak, potentially hinting at a connection to the earth, hills or mountains, or even the city of Rome itself. She may have also had ties to Pales, god of shepherds and livestock.
- The oversaw the cult of Pomona, goddess of fruitful abundance and plenty.
- The oversaw the cult of Portunus, god of openings and gateways.
- The oversaw the cult of Vulcan, god of fire.
- The oversaw the cult of Volturnus, god of the wind or the Tiber River, possibly of all rivers.
There were an additional two by the time of the Republican period, but their names and those of their respective deities are currently not known with any certainty. Based on references and clues in ancient sources, most of which are often contradictory, potential candidates for these final two flamines may include:
- the flamen Fontinalis for Fontus, god of wells and fountains;
- the flamen Larentialis for either the Lares, guardian deities, or Acca Larentia, goddess of fertility and caregiver to the infants Romulus and Remus;
- the flamen Neptunalis for Neptune, god of freshwater and the ocean;
- or the flamen Virbialis for Virbius, an obscure forest god.
Another less likely candidate cited by some scholars is the flamen Lavinialis, who was potentially dedicated to Lavinia, the final wife of the legenary Roman progenitor Aeneas. However, if a flamen with such a title did exist, he more likely would have been a municipal priest for the nearby port city of Lavinium, supposedly founded by Aeneas in honor of his wife. Similarly, the previously mentioned flamen Larentialis, or Laurentialis, could have simply been a priest who served Laurentum, another nearby city significant to the legends of Rome's foundation. Also preserved is the list of deities invoked by the when he officiated sacrifices to the goddesses Ceres and Tellus.
As the flamines minores mostly seem to be connected to aspects of nature or older Italic deities, the increased urbanization and diversification of the Roman populace may explain why these deities and their respective flamines eventually lost their significance or fell into obscurity.