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Roman Priesthood
Flamen
From the Latin verb flare, to burn. Flamen are 15 priests supervised cults of individual gods.
Flamen Dialis
Flamen of Jupiter. He was the most important of the flamen. He needed to keep himself pure which meant he could not ride a horse, or touch goat, or look at an army, or eat uncooked meat.
Augur
From the Latin verb augeo (to increase). Augur basically interprets the word of the gods. There were three methods of deviation.
1) Observation of the sky and the movement of the stars, planets, and comets. Even the lightening and thunders were interpreted by Roman priests.
2) Observation of birds, watching their flight, song , and eating habits. One the practices among Romans was to feed chickens for a sign. If they eat immediately it's a good sign, and if they turn away it's a bad sign.
3) Examination of entrails or insides of sacrificed animals, like pigs, sheep, oxen. They looked at the liver and heart.
Pontifex (Pontifex Maximus)
The most important priest. Originally there were three, but the position grew to fifteen. The ponifex maximus is the supreme ruler of all religious and civil laws. They decide the calendar and what days are business days (called fastus), what days are for public meetings and assemblies (comitialis), and what days when neither business nor assemblies are allowed (nefas). All the pontifex maximus belonged to leading families in Rome.
Vestal Virgins
attendants of the cult of the goddess Vesta. They were the only women (except for prostitutes too) who were allowed to remain virgins. The punishment if they break their vow of chastity is being buried alive.
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