In
ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of
Mars, the god of war.[1] He was one of the flamines maiores, the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen
flamens. The Flamen Martialis would have led public rites on the days sacred to Mars. Among his duties was the ritual brandishing of the sacred
spears of Mars when the
Roman army was preparing for war.
Like other flamines maiores, the high priest of Mars was a
patrician and required to marry through the ceremony of confarreatio.[2] His wife functioned as an assistant priestess with the title Flaminicia Martialis.[3] It is not clear whether the death of his wife required him to resign his duties, as was the case for the
Flamen Dialis.
Role
At the
Larentalia in April, the Flamen Martialis poured
libations in honour of
Acca Laurentia, wife of
Faustulus, the foster-father of the Rome's twin founders,
Romulus and Remus.[4] It is assumed by modern scholars, though nowhere specifically stated in any ancient source, that the Flamen Martialis presided over the
October Horse, a sacrifice of a horse to Mars in the
Campus Martius.[5][6]
The major flamens were placed under several religious prohibitions that restricted their military and political careers. In the 240s BC, for instance, the consul Aulus Postumius Albinus could not assume his military command, because the
pontifex maximusLucius Caecilius Metellus invoked the prohibition against a Flamen Martialis leaving the city.[7] The Flamines Martiales were likely appointed by the pontifex maximus and initiated by an
augur in the
comitia calata.[8] Members of the Flamines Martiales may have had their term end when their wife died. The wife of a Flamen Martialis was also a priestess.[9]
List of Flamines Martiales
The priesthood was held for life; dates given below represent the year in which the priesthood is recorded.
Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Niger (d. 56 BC?), successor of the preceding in 69 BC, and notable for the detailed record of the pontifical dinner held for his inauguration.[15][16]