Editing Pontifex maximus (section)

==Roman Republic==
{{See also|List of Pontifices Maximi|College of Pontiffs}}

In the [[Roman Republic]], the ''pontifex maximus'' was the highest office in the [[Religion in ancient Rome|state religion of ancient Rome]] and directed the [[College of Pontiffs]]. According to Livy, after the overthrow of the monarchy, the Romans created the priesthood of the ''[[Rex Sacrorum|rex sacrorum]]'', or "king of sacred rites," to carry out certain religious duties and rituals previously performed by the king. The ''rex sacrorum'' was explicitly deprived of military and political power, but the ''pontifices'' were permitted to hold both [[Roman magistrate|magistracies]] and military commands.<ref>[http://abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/public.relig.htm Roman Public Religion] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318050320/http://abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/public.relig.htm |date=March 18, 2011 }} Roman Civilization, bates.edu retrieved August 17, 2006</ref>

The official residence of the ''pontifex maximus'' was the ''[[Domus Publica]]'' ("State House") which stood between the House of the [[Vestal Virgin]]s and the [[Via Sacra]], close to the [[Regia]], in the [[Roman Forum]]. His religious duties were carried out from the Regia. Unless the ''pontifex maximus'' was also a magistrate, he was not allowed to wear the ''[[toga praetexta]]'', i.e. toga with the purple border. In artistic representations, he can be recognized by his holding an iron knife ''([[secespita]])''<ref name=livius/> or the ''[[patera]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Panel Relief of Marcus Aurelius and Roman Imperial Iconography|publisher= State University of New York|work= College at Oneonta|url=http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH200/politics/aurelian_panels.html|access-date=2023-02-17}}</ref> and the distinctive robes or toga with part of the mantle covering the head ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#capite velato|capite velato]])'', in keeping with Roman practice.

In practice, particularly during the late Republic, the office of ''pontifex maximus'' was generally held by a member of a politically prominent family. It was a coveted position mainly for the great prestige it conferred on the holder. [[Julius Caesar]] became pontifex in 73&nbsp;BC and ''pontifex maximus'' in 63&nbsp;BC.

The major Republican source on the pontiffs would have been the theological writings of [[Varro]], which survive only in fragments preserved by later authors such as [[Aulus Gellius]] and [[Nonius Marcellus]]. Other sources are [[Cicero]], [[Livy]], [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], [[Valerius Maximus]], [[Plutarch]]'s ''Life of Numa Pompilius'', [[Sextus Pompeius Festus|Festus]]'s summaries of [[Verrius Flaccus]], and in later writers, including several of the [[Church Fathers]]. Some of these sources present an extensive list of everyday prohibitions for the ''pontifex maximus''; it seems difficult to reconcile these lists with evidence that many ''pontifices maximi'' were prominent members of society who lived normal lives.

===Election and number===
The number of Pontifices, elected by ''co-optatio'' (i.e. the remaining members nominate their new colleague) for life, was originally five, including the ''pontifex maximus''.<ref name="lacus">{{cite dictionary|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Pontifex.html|title=Pontifex Maximus|via=[[LacusCurtius]]|access-date=August 15, 2006|first=William|last=Smith|author-link=William Smith (lexicographer)|dictionary=[[A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]]|publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]|location=London|year=1875|pages=939–942}}</ref><ref name=livius/> The ''pontifices'', moreover, could only come from the old nobility. In effect, this was only members of the patrician class. However, in 300&ndash;299&nbsp;BC the ''[[lex Ogulnia]]'' opened the office of ''pontifex maximus'' to public election and permitted the ''[[plebs]]'' (plebeians) to be co-opted as priests, so that part of the exclusivity of the title was lost. But it was only in 254&nbsp;BC that [[Tiberius Coruncanius]] became the first plebeian ''pontifex maximus''.<ref>[https://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae016.html Titus Livius. ''Ex Libro'' XVIII] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819095111/http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae016.html |date=August 19, 2018 }} Periochae, from livius.org retrieved August 16, 2006</ref>

The ''lex Ogulnia'' also increased the number of pontiffs to nine (the ''pontifex maximus'' included). In 104&nbsp;BC the ''lex Domitia'' prescribed that the election of all pontiffs would henceforward be voted by the ''comitia tributa'' (an assembly of the people divided into voting districts); by the same law only 17&nbsp;tribes, chosen by lot from the 35&nbsp;tribes of the city, could vote. The law's promulgator, L[ucius] Domitius Ahenobarbus, was shortly afterwards elected pontifex maximus after the death of the incumbent [[Metellus Dalmaticus]]: Something of a personal revenge because, the previous year, he had expected to be co-opted as a pontiff to replace his late father, but the pontifical college had appointed another candidate in his place. The office's next holder, [[Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex|Q[uintus] Mucius Scaevola]], was also elected under the same law, though without controversy or opposition since he was a former consul and long-serving pontiff.

This law was abolished in 81&nbsp;BC by [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]] in his dictatorship, in the ''lex Cornelia de Sacerdotiis'', which restored to the great priestly colleges their full right of ''co-optatio''.<ref>Liv. Epit. 89</ref><ref>Pseudo-Ascon. in Divinat. p&nbsp;102, ed. Orelli</ref><ref>Dion Cass. xxxvii. 37</ref> Also under Sulla, the number of pontifices was increased to fifteen, the ''pontifex maximus'' included, and Sulla appointed [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius]] as the next holder of the office – the only truly unelected ''pontifex maximus'' in history, since even the other pontiffs did not get a vote in the matter.

In 63&nbsp;BC, the law of Sulla was abolished by the tribune [[Titus Labienus]], and a modified form of the ''lex Domitia'' was reinstated providing for election by ''comitia tributa'' once again: [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]] followed Ahenobarbus's precedent by being elected by public vote, although Caesar at least had previously been a pontiff. Marcus Antonius later restored the right of ''co-optatio'' to the college,<ref>Dion Cass. xliv. 53</ref> in time for the election of [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]]. Also under [[Julius Caesar]], the number of pontifices were increased to sixteen, the ''pontifex maximus'' included. (Possibly because Caesar's own long absences from Rome necessitated the appointment of a deputy pontiff for those occasions when fifteen needed to be present.) The number of pontifices varied during the Empire but is believed to have been regular at fifteen.<ref name=lacus/>

===Extraordinary appointment of dictators===
The office came into its own with the abolition of the monarchy, when most sacral powers previously vested in the King were transferred either to the ''pontifex maximus'' or to the [[Rex Sacrorum]], though traditionally a (non-political) [[Roman dictator|dictator]]<ref>see also: [[basileus]], [[interrex]]</ref> was formally mandated by the Senate for one day, to perform a specific rite.

According to Livy in his "History of Rome," an ancient instruction written in archaic letters commands: "Let him who is the [[Roman dictator|Praetor Maximus]] fasten a nail on the Ides of September." This notice was fastened on the right side of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, next to the chapel of Minerva. This nail is said to have marked the number of the year.

It was in accordance with this direction that the consul Horatius dedicated the Temple of [[Jupiter Optimus Maximus]] in the year following the expulsion of the kings; from the Consuls the ceremony of fastening the nails passed to the Dictators, because they possessed greater authority. As the custom had been subsequently dropped, it was felt to be of sufficient importance to require the appointment of a dictator. L[ucius] Manlius was accordingly nominated but his appointment was due to political rather than religious reasons. He was eager to command in the war with the Hernici. He caused an anger among the men liable to serve by the inconsiderate way in which he conducted the enrolment. In consequence of the unanimous resistance offered by the tribunes of the plebs, he gave way, either voluntarily or through compulsion, and laid down his dictatorship. Since then, this rite was performed by the Rex Sacrorum.<ref>
{{cite web
|url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/romrelig3.html#Livy
|title = History of Rome
|access-date = 2006-08-23
|author = Livy (Titus Livius)
|author-link = Livy
|work = Ancient History Sourcebook: Accounts of Roman State Religion, c.&nbsp;200&nbsp;BC – 250&nbsp;AD
|publisher = Paul Halsall © August 1998 (public domain), Fordham University; halsall@murray.fordham.edu
}}</ref>

====Duties====
The main duty of the Pontifices was to maintain the ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#pax deorum|pax deorum]]'' or "peace of the gods."<ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761568005 "Roman Mythology"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521103412/http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761568005|date=May 21, 2006}}, Microsoft [[Encarta Online]] Encyclopedia 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2006</ref>

The immense authority of the sacred college of [[pontiff]]s was centered on the ''pontifex maximus'', the other pontifices forming his ''consilium'' or advising body. His functions were partly sacrificial or ritualistic, but these were the least important. His real power lay in the administration of ''ius divinum'' or divine law;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of JUS DIVINUM|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jus+divinum|access-date=2023-02-17|website=Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary|language=en}}</ref> the information collected by the pontifices related to the Roman religious tradition was bound in a ''corpus'' which summarized [[dogma]] and other concepts.
[[File:Coin Julius Caesar Pontifex Maximus.PNG|thumb|[[Denarius]] depicting Julius Caesar as ''pontifex maximus'']]
The chief departments of ''jus divinum'' may be described as follows:
# The regulation of all expiatory ceremonials needed as a result of pestilence, lightning, etc.
# The consecration of all temples and other sacred places and objects dedicated to the gods.
# The regulation of the calendar; both astronomically and in detailed application to the public life of the state.
# The administration of the law relating to burials and burying-places, and the worship of the ''[[manes]]'' or dead ancestors.
# The superintendence of all marriages by ''[[confarreatio]]'', i.e. originally of all legal patrician marriages.
# The administration of the law of adoption and of testamentary succession.
# The regulation of the public morals, and fining and punishing offending parties.
# The selection of [[Vestal Virgins]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kroppenberg, Inge |title=Law, Religion and Constitution of the Vestal Virgins |journal=Law and Literature |volume=22 |issue=3 |year=2010 |pages=426–427|doi=10.1525/lal.2010.22.3.418 |s2cid=144805147 }}</ref>

The pontifices had many relevant and prestigious functions such as being in charge of caring for the state archives, the keeping the official minutes of elected magistrates,<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]''</ref> the list of magistrates, and they kept the records of their own decisions (''commentarii'') and of the chief events of each year, the so-called "public diaries", the {{Lang|la|[[Annales maximi]]}}.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |first=William Warde |last=Fowler|wstitle=Pontifex |volume=22 |page=66}}</ref>

The ''pontifex maximus'' was also subject to several [[taboos]]. Among them was the prohibition to leave Italy. Plutarch described [[Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio]] (141–132&nbsp;BC) as the first to leave Italy, after being forced by the Senate to do so, and thus break the sacred taboo. [[Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus]] (132–130&nbsp;BC) was the first to leave Italy voluntarily. Afterwards it became common and no longer against the law for the ''pontifex maximus'' to leave Italy. Among the most notable of those who did was [[Julius Caesar]] (63–44&nbsp;BC).

The Pontifices were in charge of the [[lunisolar calendar|lunisolar]] [[Roman calendar]] and determined when [[Intercalation (timekeeping)|intercalary months]] needed to be added to synchronize the calendar to the seasons. Since the Pontifices were often politicians, and because a Roman magistrate's term of office corresponded with a calendar year, this power was prone to abuse: a Pontifex could lengthen a year in which he or one of his political allies was in office, or refuse to lengthen one in which his opponents were in power. A Pontifex with other political responsibilities, especially away from Rome, might also have been simply distracted from his calendrical duties as chief priest. This caused the calendar to become out of step with the seasons; for example, Caesar's crossing of the [[Rubicon]] in January 49&nbsp;BC actually took place in mid-autumn.

Under his authority as ''pontifex maximus'', Julius Caesar introduced the calendar reform that created the entirely [[solar calendar|solar]] [[Julian calendar]], with a fault of less than a day per century. This calendar remained the standard calendar of the Roman Empire until its collapse, and was used by the [[state church of the Roman Empire]] after the adoption of Christianity as the Roman state religion. The Julian calendar, established by Caesar in his capacity as ''pontifex maximus'', thus became the standard calendar in all of Europe, and continued in use in Western Europe until the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] reform in the 16th&nbsp;century.

[[File:IMG 0028 - Relief of Marcus Aurelius (7358499854).jpg|thumb|''Pontifex maximus'' and ''Augustus'' [[Marcus Aurelius]] ({{Reign|161|180}}) performing sacrifice in a relief from the [[Arch of Marcus Aurelius (Rome)|Arch of Marcus Aurelius]] ([[Capitoline Museums]])]]