Flamen Dialis

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In ancient Roman religion, the flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter.[1] The term Dialis is related to Diespiter, an Old Latin form of the name Jupiter.[2] There were 15 flamines, of whom three were flamines maiores, serving the three gods of the Archaic Triad. According to tradition the flamines were forbidden to touch metal, ride a horse, or see a corpse. The Flamen Dialis was officially ranked second in the ranking of the highest Roman priests (ordo sacerdotum), behind only the rex sacrorum and before other flamines maiores (Flamen Martialis, Flamen Quirinalis) and pontifex maximus.[3]

The office of Flamen Dialis, and the offices of the other flamines maiores, were traditionally said to have been created by Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome, although Numa himself performed many of the rites of the Flamen Dialis.[4](1:20)

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dillon-Garland-2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lewis-Short-1879 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Forsythe, Gary (1 January 2006). A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War. University of California Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-520-24991-2. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Livy-AbUrbeCond was invoked but never defined (see the help page).