A
flamen was a name given to a
priest assigned to a state-supported god or goddess in
Roman religion. There were fifteen
flamines in the Roman Republic. The most important three were the
flamines maiores (or "major priests"), who served the three chief Roman gods of the
Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve, two of whom are unknown, were the
flamines minores ("lesser priests").
The fifteen flamines were part of the Pontificial College which administered state sponsored religion in Rome. When the office of flamen was vacant, a pontifex could serve as a temporary replacement, although only the Pontifex Maximus is known to have substituted for the Flamen Dialis.
The official costume of a flamen, of great antiquity, was a hat called an apex and a heavy woollen cloak called a laena. The laena was a double-thick wool cloak with a fringed edge, and was worn over the flamen's toga with a clasp holding it around his throat.[1] The apex was a leather skull-cap with a chin-strap and a point of olive wood on its top, like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle.[2]
By the time of the religious reformation of Augustus, the origins and functions of many of the long-neglected gods resident in Rome was confusing even to the Romans themselves. The obscurity of some of the deities assigned flamines (for example Falacer, Palatua, Quirinus and Volturnus) suggests that the office was ancient. Many scholars assume that the flamines existed at least from the time of the early Roman kings, before the Roman Republic. This scholarly opinion is in agreement with the belief of the Romans themselves, who credited the foundation of their priesthood to Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. According to Livy, Numa created the offices of the three flamines maiores and assigned them each a fine robe of office and a curule chair [3].
