Flamen
A flamen was a specific type of priest 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 flamines maiores, who each served one of the gods of the Archaic Triad: Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The remaining twelve flamines minores 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 flamen remains obscure, and perhaps undecidable. The term is traditionally connected with the Proto-Germanic verb *blōtaną, by positing a Proto-Indo-European stem *bʰleh₂d-mn-, 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.Indo-European scholar G. Dumézil attempted to link the term to the Sanskrit word brahman. 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-mn- 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 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 flamines maiores and assigned each a fine robe of office and a curule seat. The flamines 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, as well as the flamines of the thirty curiae that divided early Rome. 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. 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, as was the case with the Sacerdotes Augustales.
In post-Antiquity, the word "flamen" 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" 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... fit to serve." After a new flamen 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 and they were performed on the Capitoline Hill.The tenure of a flamen was expected to be lifelong, but the holder could be forced to resign for committing a breach of duty, as well as for the occurrence of an ill omen while performing their ceremonial obligations, potentially a divine warning that the flamen had fallen out of favor with their patron deity. In certain situations, a flamen maiore could be represented by a proflamen, a member of the College of Pontiffs who was approved to act as substitute. 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 ; 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, and she was even forbidden from washing or combing her hair on certain days of religious significance. These and many other regulations were intended to ensure her continued role as guardian of the fertility of Rome's entire populace.
Another disadvantage specific to 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", as these items were symbolically associated with pollution and death. They were also required "to remain free of physical and social constraints".
Many modern scholars believe that the flamines maiores bore the majority of these social and ritual regulations, as all holders of the positions were required to be of noble birth, thus already being assigned multiple social rules and expectations to follow. Conversely, as the flamines minores were all commoners, it would likely be considered unrealistic to hold them to a standard that was above their social strata.
While the flamines maiores were highly respected and vital members of the Roman priesthood, their own office could be weaponized against them, as one could potentially be nominated to the position by rivals to halt their political or military advancement, as the restrictions associated with the office were guaranteed to do. For example, they were forbidden from riding horses, as well as from leaving the city of Rome for longer than a day; both mandates would make it extremely difficult for such a person to lead and command an army. Furthermore, the flamines were explicitly barred from running for or holding any political office, a unique distinction from other segments of the Roman priesthood who could still pursue political careers, even using their positions as an advantage.
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.