Pontifex Maximus

between mankind, and the forces that were believed to control people’s existence and well-being. Due to the influence of Greek colonies in southern Italy, the Romans adopted some of the Greek gods into their religion. This adaptation resulted in these newly adopted Roman gods to have human characteristics, such as jealousy, love, and hate. The Roman religion focused on worshiping gods and goddesses, such as Juno, patron goddess of women, Minerva, the goddess of craftspeople, and Jupiter Optimus Maximus, who became the patron deity of Rome. (Spielvogel, 124) These Roman gods were honored in temples, which were also considered the “home” of the god, however worship took place outside the temple. (Wasson, “Roman Religion”) Since it was crucial to establish a good the relationship with the gods, the performance of the rituals were executed by a college of priests, called pontiffs, in order to maintain divine law by accurately carry out the responsibility of the rituals. The pontifex maximus, chief pontiff, was in control of the state religion and also selected girls between the ages of six and ten to serve as Vestal Virgins (Spielvogel, 124). The Vestal Virgins were priestesses of the goddess Vesta, and were responsible for guarding the fire on the state hearth. To the Romans, if the fire was extinguished it would indicate the destruction of the city. (Spielvogel, 125) The temples of Roman worship were located in important location such as alongside a major road and included…

William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, is a tragic story about the struggles of a prince named Hamlet who seeks to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is so determined to sabotage his uncle, who has taken his father’s crown and is responsible for the crime, that Hamlet himself increasingly becomes insane. Family bonds and friendships are broken as death begins to claim their loved ones and vengeance becomes the primary mindset of the characters. As the play progresses, three prominent themes of…

He gains fame throughout the games, and despite not wanting to compete, he uses his newfound power to try to overthrow the corrupt emperor. He doesn’t give up, much like William, as they both are born a certain way and they change their stars despite all odds. The theme not giving up is shown with this quote: “Today i saw a slave become more powerful than the emperor of Rome”. The director was showing, again, that we don’t have to follow the path we were born into. This quote was said by…

Unlike the other goddesses of Rome, Vesta was not embodied in the archetypical human female form but instead a flame. (Kroppenberg 418-19). This was at odds with how a Vestal Virgin was “wrested” by the Pontifex Maximus (Kroppenberg 423-427). Girls between the ages of six and ten were chosen with perfection in mind: beautiful virgins with no physical or mental afflictions, no speech or hearing impairments, who came from patrician families (Schultz 1505). Once selected, a complicated ritual was…

was also granted imperium proconsulare maius. This means that he had the right to interfere in any providence and override the decision of any governor. This proves that Augustus Caesar was a leader. Another example of how he was seen as a leader is that after the death of Lepidus in 13 BCE, Augustus Caesar took the position of pontifex maximus which means the highest priest and is the most important position in Roman religion. The fact that he built the Roman Empire, he could override the…

The College of Pontiffs contained a predominately male group of priests, including the Pontifex Maximus, and the only female priestesshood, the Vestal Virgins (Adkins 276). The Vestal’s acceptance into the College of Pontiffs was an honor denoting their importance as integral to Rome’s religious festivals and sacrifice. Vestals were responsible for making the mola salsa – a cake made of salted grains. Due to this contribution the Vestals participated in all major festivals and almost all…

Senate proposed that he accept a revised role in the government of Rome. This means he will be able to run the government the right way as he would be holding Consulship each year and he would be the first to bring matters before the Senate every time. The Senate chose to honour Augustus with more power including proconsular imperium which would make him the gain military control of Spain, Gaul and Syria for 10 years. I am so glad to say that Augustus revived priesthood and was appointed…

Vestal virgins were women priestesses to the goddess of Hearth, Vesta, in Ancient Rome. They represented the daughters of the royal house, who tended the state cult of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. These six women where choses between the ages of 6 and 10 by the chief of priest, pontifex maximus. They had to be freeborn of freedom, have both parents alive, and free from physical and mental defects. The six virgins served for 30 years, during which they had to remain virgins. These six women…

Judaism were not accepted by the state because the beliefs associated with these religions required, all other gods and beliefs of former religions to be disowned. State religion was guided by a group of government officials and administrators, which were under control of statewide religious feast days and festivals. The most powerful religious official in Rome was the pontifex maximus. He was the leader of the collegium pontificum [college of priests], which determined the dates of festivals…

general. The book begins by giving a brief description of Caesars early life. It notes how we do not know much about the early life of Caesar, because the beginning of Suetonius’s “Live of the Twelve Caesars” was destroyed. It begin to explain the origins of his name, and what his life may have been like as child. He comes from a patrician family, which claims decadence from Aeneas, and through him Venus. It then tells tales from Caesar being captured by pirates, to his survival during the…