Temples : Roman Priests Flashcards
What were the main four priestly colleges
- the Pontifices
- the Augurs
- the Vestals
- the Haruspices
Who were the Pontifices
They were the most important college of priests in the Roman world.
How many Pontifices were there
15
Who was the head of the Pontifices
The Pontified Maximum - a life long position that gave the holder great power
Who normally held the position of the Pontified Maximum
The emperor (established from Augustus’ reign)
What does the term Pontifex mean and what did that make the Pontifiex Maximus
Pontifex meant bridge - the Pontifex Maximus acted as a mediator between the Gods and man
What were the main roles of the pontifices
- the protection of the temples
- regulation of burial and inheritance laws
- supervision of the religious calendar
Who were the Augurs
A college of male priests who would ‘take the auspices’ (read the natural world)
What were Augurs main roles
- read the flight of birds
- read the behaviour of animals
- read the direction of thunder
When were Augurs used
The taking of auspices was both common in private and state life. They were used before many key events such as weddings, battles or business transactions
Why did Romulus and Remus use an Augur
To decide which hill to build a city on by reading the birds that showed
Who were the Haruspexs
A college of priests which specialised in reading the entrails of animals
How would the Haruspex read the animal
The haruspex would:
- watch how the animal fell to the ground after being killed
- read the smoke and flames coming off the animal while it was burnt
- read the entrails
What part of the entrails was significant for the Haruspexs
The liver - they would check for any abnormalities and different parts of the liver meant different things
Could it be argued that priests may have taken bribes
Yes, becoming a priest helped in favour of a persons political status and they could have interpreted signs in favour of political allies.
