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In ancient Roman religion, the rex sacrorum ("king of the sacred things", also sometimes rex sacrificulus[1]) was a senatorial priesthood[2] reserved for patricians. Although in the historical era, the pontifex maximus was the head of Roman state religion, Festus says[3] that in the ranking of the highest Roman priests (ordo sacerdotum), the rex sacrorum was of highest prestige, followed by the flamines maiores (Flamen Dialis, Flamen Martialis, Flamen Quirinalis) and the pontifex maximus. The rex sacrorum was based in the Regia.[4]
- ^ "LacusCurtius • Roman Religion — Rex Sacrificulus (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
- ^ Jörg Rüpke, Religion of the Romans (Polity Press, 2007, originally published in German 2001), p. 223 online.
- ^ Festus on the ordo sacerdotum, 198 in the edition of Lindsay.
- ^ Gary Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War (University of California Press, 2005), p. 136 online.