Roman Roles and practices in the Temple

Question 1

How many pontifices were there usually at a time?

Answer 1

15

Question 1

What were the most important priests in the roman world?

Answer 1

pontifices

Question 2

What was the leader of the pontifices called?

Answer 2

pontifex maximus

Question 3

Who and when was the first emperor to be given the pontifex maximus post?

Answer 3

Augustus in 13BC

Question 4

After 13 BC who always held the Pontifex maximus role?

Answer 4

the emperor

Question 5

What the the term ‘pontifex’ translate to and what does it also allude to?

Answer 5

-it translated to ‘bridge builder’
-alludes to the priest’s role as a mediator between men and the gods

Question 6

What were the 4 roles of the pontifices?

Answer 6

-protections of the temple
-overseeing of burial practices
-overseeing of inheritance laws
-supervision of the religious calender

Question 7

What were pontifices seen as in roman society?

Answer 7

-very powerful
-high status

Question 8

True or False
Politicians wanted to become Pontifices

Answer 8

True
because of the powers Pontifices held in roman religion

Question 9

What was the main job of Augurs?

Answer 9

taking the auspices

Question 10

What were the auspices?

Answer 10

reading the flight of birds or reading the behaviour of animals or direction of thunder to work out what the gods wanted

Question 11

What was the symbol of office for an augury?

Answer 11

lituus - staff with a curved end used in their ceremonies

Question 12

TRUE OR FALSE:
Augurs were only necessary in public life

Answer 12

False!
they were necessary in both public and private life

Question 13

When might an augur be called? (2 examples)

Answer 13

Any of:
-before a battle
-before a marriage
-before a business transaction

Question 14

Why were priestly college’s popular to join?

Answer 14

because they had the power to read the will of the gods

Question 15

What were a lot of Augurs accused of doing?

Answer 15

taking bribes to give good or bad omens

Question 16

Who were the vestal virgins?

Answer 16

priestess who represented the only female priesthood in rome

Question 17

How many vestal virgins were there?

Answer 17

6

Question 18

What did the vestal virgins do?

Answer 18

tend the sacred fire of vesta

Question 19

Who was vesta ?

Answer 19

the goddess of the Hearth

Question 20

what was the hearth?

Answer 20

the main fire in a house

Question 21

who selected the vestal virgins?

Answer 21

the pontifex maximus

Question 22

between what age were the vestal virgins chosen?

Answer 22

between 6 and 10

Question 23

What type of family did a vestal virgin have too come from?

Answer 23

an elite senatorial family with two living parents

Question 24

What vow did the vestal virgins take?

Answer 24

a vow to chastity for 30 years

Question 25

What is chastity?

Answer 25

abstaining from sexual intercourse

Question 26

What is the flame the vestal virgins tend to supposed to be?

Answer 26

the flame which was brought to rome from troy by Aeneas

Question 27

What would happen if the fire of vesta ever went out?

Answer 27

Rome would fall

Question 28

What was kept inside of the temple of vesta apart from the fire of vesta?

Answer 28

important state documents and the wills of important romans

Question 29

What did the vestal virgins make?

Answer 29

mola salsa

Question 30

what is mola salsa?

Answer 30

a mixture used as part of sacrifice of animals

Question 31

What privileges were given to vestal virgins? (list 2)

Answer 31

• able to own their own property
• front row seats at games

Question 32

What would happen if a vestal virgin was caught to have broken their vows?

Answer 32

• the vestal virgin is burned alive
• the man responsible would be whipped to death

Question 33

Where did augurs get their origins from?

Answer 33

Greece

Question 34

what origin is haruspex of?

Answer 34

Etruscan

Question 35

How did haruspex interpret signs from the gods?

Answer 35

by examining the entrails of an animal that had been sacrificed

Question 36

What would a Haruspex analyse? (list 3 things)

Answer 36

-how an animal fell to the ground
-the smoke and flames as an animal is burned on the altar
-the entrails of the animal

Question 37

What was the most important organ to a haruspex ?

Answer 37

the liver

Question 38

What would a haruspex check for in the entrails of an animal?

Answer 38

abnormalities like blood spots

Question 39

Why was a haruspex necessary?

Answer 39

to avoid the wrath of the gods (ira deorum) as they could tell whether a sacrifice had a bad omen or not.

Question 40

In state sacrifices who would lead it?

Answer 40

Pontifex maximus

Question 41

who would lead smaller sacrifices?

Answer 41

a private citizen

Question 42

What would all participants ensure before the sacrifice?

Answer 42

that they were clean in order not to pollute the sacrifice and would dress in their best clothes

Question 43

How was an animal prepared?

Answer 43

by gilding the horns or tying ribbons to its tails or horns

Question 44

What was good omen when the animal was led to the altar?

Answer 44

if the animal did it willingly

Question 45

What would the presiding priest wear?

Answer 45

he would veil his head with a toga

Question 46

Why would flute player join the procession of the sacrificial animal?

Answer 46

to stop any noises that would scare the animal

Question 47

What would a priest sprinkle on the animals head before it was killed?

Answer 47

mola salsa

Question 48

What would sprinkling mola salsa cause an animal to do and what did this mean?

Answer 48

nod , this meant the animal agreed to the ritual taking place

Question 49

What did the priest do after the animal nodded in a sacrifice?

Answer 49

utter a prayer to the god, offering the animal into their care

Question 50

Who was a Popa and what would they do?

Answer 50

an official at a roman sacrifice they would strike the animal on the head to stun it

Question 51

Who was a Cultrarius and what would they do?

Answer 51

an offical at a roman sacrifice that would slit the throat of the animal

Question 52

What was important about the way an animal died in a roman sacrifice?

Answer 52

that the animal dies with one single blow

Question 53

What would happen once an animal was killed at a roman sacrifice ?

Answer 53

the feast began and none of the animal went to waste.

Question 54

Who received their share of the sacrifice first and why?

Answer 54

the god because they were most important

Question 55

What was done before the sacrifice was given to the god?

Answer 55

-the priest would utter a prayer stating the god’s name and reason for the sacrifice.
-the entrails of the animal were read and then were cooked and offered to the gods

Question 56

What was done to the leftover meat, not given to the god?

Answer 56

it was cut up and shared with the wider community

Question 57

Who was first to eat in a state sacrifice?

Answer 57

the priests, then the senate, then the elite citizens

Question 58

What were the benefits of sharing the meat of the sacrifice for the romans?

Answer 58

meat was not a common part of Roman diet so this was rare occasion to eat meat.

Question 59

in a private sacrifice who was the meat shared between?

Answer 59

the participants