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MARCH 6th: PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
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<p>[QUOTE="cmezner, post: 6615009, member: 87809"]There were four principal colleges of priests: pontifices, augures, XV viri sacris faciundis, VII viri epulonum, and the flamines, the four chief priests. The priesthoods founded or reorganized by Augustus starting in 29 BC naturally played an important part in all festivals and sacrifices to the gods. Priests wore traditional garb, and each could be recognized by his special attribute: the leather cap with metal point (apex) and long-haired woolen cloak for the flamines, or the cloak with bared shoulder for the XV viri sacris faciundis who were principally responsible for the cult of Apollo.</p><p>Membership in a given priesthood was allotted to a specific social class, in accordance with the ranking in each collegium. The highest priesthoods and fraternities were reserved for the upper class, particularly for patricians, the emperor could, however, elevate men of his choice to patrician status. In place of the members of the highest priesthoods, as on the Ara Pacis, their attributes and implements refer to them symbolically: the lituus of the augurs, the apex of the flamines, the acerra and libation jug with laurel branches of the XV viri sacris faciundis, the simpuvium of the pontifices, the patera of the VII viri epulonum.</p><p>The rites of the Arval Brethren, a cult revived by Augustus and once restricted to patrician families, was originally concerned with the worship of the fertility goddess Dea Dia. On certain occasions the Avral Brethren apparently wore wreaths of grain, a reference to the fertility of the fields.</p><p>The princeps was a member of the four most important colleges of priests and was de facto chief priest long before he was able to assume the office of Pontifex Maximus. This role is celebrated by the denarius of Antistius Vetus (16 BC), on which the sacred utensils designate the four major priesthoods to which Augustus belonged, and Augustus himself described it thus:"I was Pontifex Maximus, augur, belonged to the colleges of the XV viri sacris faciundis and the VII viri epulonum, was an Arval Brother, sodalis Titius, and fetialis" (Res Gestae 67).</p><p>Certainly from the time of the Secular Games in 17 BC , and probably earlier, in the 20s, the princeps must have made it known that henceforth he preferred that statues put up in his honor show him togate at sacrifice or prayer, so his piety was put on display for every Roman to see, making it clear that he considered the performance of his religious duties his greatest responsibility and highest honor. Both on coins (Denarius of C. Marsius, Rome 13 BC) and as honorific statues show him veiled in a toga (first picture OP). [Paul Zanker, "The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus].</p><p><br /></p><p>Denarius, Rome 13 BC</p><p>RIC I 410; RSC 347;</p><p>17 x 18 mm, 3.590 g</p><p><br /></p><p>Ob.: CAESAR AVGVSTVS Head of Augustus, bare, right</p><p>Rev.: C • ANTISTIVS • REGINVS III • VIR sacrificial implements: Simpulum and lituus above, tripod and patera below</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]1266922[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1266923[/ATTACH]</p><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="cmezner, post: 6615009, member: 87809"]There were four principal colleges of priests: pontifices, augures, XV viri sacris faciundis, VII viri epulonum, and the flamines, the four chief priests. The priesthoods founded or reorganized by Augustus starting in 29 BC naturally played an important part in all festivals and sacrifices to the gods. Priests wore traditional garb, and each could be recognized by his special attribute: the leather cap with metal point (apex) and long-haired woolen cloak for the flamines, or the cloak with bared shoulder for the XV viri sacris faciundis who were principally responsible for the cult of Apollo. Membership in a given priesthood was allotted to a specific social class, in accordance with the ranking in each collegium. The highest priesthoods and fraternities were reserved for the upper class, particularly for patricians, the emperor could, however, elevate men of his choice to patrician status. In place of the members of the highest priesthoods, as on the Ara Pacis, their attributes and implements refer to them symbolically: the lituus of the augurs, the apex of the flamines, the acerra and libation jug with laurel branches of the XV viri sacris faciundis, the simpuvium of the pontifices, the patera of the VII viri epulonum. The rites of the Arval Brethren, a cult revived by Augustus and once restricted to patrician families, was originally concerned with the worship of the fertility goddess Dea Dia. On certain occasions the Avral Brethren apparently wore wreaths of grain, a reference to the fertility of the fields. The princeps was a member of the four most important colleges of priests and was de facto chief priest long before he was able to assume the office of Pontifex Maximus. This role is celebrated by the denarius of Antistius Vetus (16 BC), on which the sacred utensils designate the four major priesthoods to which Augustus belonged, and Augustus himself described it thus:"I was Pontifex Maximus, augur, belonged to the colleges of the XV viri sacris faciundis and the VII viri epulonum, was an Arval Brother, sodalis Titius, and fetialis" (Res Gestae 67). Certainly from the time of the Secular Games in 17 BC , and probably earlier, in the 20s, the princeps must have made it known that henceforth he preferred that statues put up in his honor show him togate at sacrifice or prayer, so his piety was put on display for every Roman to see, making it clear that he considered the performance of his religious duties his greatest responsibility and highest honor. Both on coins (Denarius of C. Marsius, Rome 13 BC) and as honorific statues show him veiled in a toga (first picture OP). [Paul Zanker, "The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus]. Denarius, Rome 13 BC RIC I 410; RSC 347; 17 x 18 mm, 3.590 g Ob.: CAESAR AVGVSTVS Head of Augustus, bare, right Rev.: C • ANTISTIVS • REGINVS III • VIR sacrificial implements: Simpulum and lituus above, tripod and patera below [CENTER][ATTACH=full]1266922[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1266923[/ATTACH][/CENTER][/QUOTE]
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