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The pontifex maximus (Latin for "supreme pontiff" [1] [2] [3]) was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs (Collegium Pontificum) in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion , open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first held this position.
The Pontifex Maximus held his office for life, but the date of death is not known for every man who held the office, and the name of the Pontifex is not recorded for every period. Unless otherwise noted, dates and citations of primary sources are from T.R.S. Broughton 's three-volume The Magistrates of the Roman Republic (American Philological ...
The pontifex maximus was the most important member of the college. Until 104 BC, the pontifex maximus held the sole power in appointing members to the other priesthoods in the college. The flamens were priests in charge of fifteen official cults of Roman religion, each assigned to a particular god.
The title of Pontifex Maximus was a title of the Roman emperor since the reign of Caesar Augustus, being abdicated by Gratian (375–383). [36] [37] [38] The Encyclopædia Britannica, without citing source, attributes Pope Leo I (r. 440–461) to the use of the title Pontifex Maximus. [39]
Scaevola served as pontifex maximus following his younger brother Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus's death. Mucianus was elected consul along with high priest Lucius Valerius Flaccus in 131 BC, after previously serving as Pontifex Maximus in 132 BC. [5] [6] Scaevola was also the father of Quintus Mucius Scaevola who was a consul in 95 BC.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (c. 230 – 152 BC) was a Roman consul, Pontifex Maximus, Censor and Princeps Senatus.A scion of the ancient Patrician gens Aemilia, he was most likely the son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, with his brothers being Lucius and Quintus.
Quintus Mucius Scaevola "Pontifex" (140–82 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic and an important early authority on Roman law. He is credited with founding the study of law as a systematic discipline. [2] He was elected Pontifex Maximus (chief priest of Rome), as had been his father and uncle before him. [3]
Marcus Fabius Ambustus was Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Republic in the year that Rome was taken by the Gauls of Brennus, 390 BC. [1] His three sons--Caeso, Numerius, and Quintus—were sent as ambassadors to the Gauls, when the latter were besieging Clusium, and participated in an attack against the besieging Gauls.