In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, the god of war. He was one of the '' flamines maiores'', the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen

flamen A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...

s. The Flamen Martialis would have led public rites on the days sacred to Mars. Among his duties was the ritual brandishing of the sacred

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

s of Mars when the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

was preparing for war. Like other ''flamines maiores'', the high priest of Mars was a

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

and required to marry through the ceremony of ''

confarreatio In ancient Rome, ''confarreatio'' was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of emmer, in Latin ''far'' or ''panis farreus'', hence the rite's name. (''Far'' is often translated as "s ...

''. His wife functioned as an assistant priestess with the title Flaminicia Martialis. It is not clear whether the death of his wife required him to resign his duties, as was the case for the

Flamen Dialis In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 '' flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thre ...

Duties

At the Larentalia in April, the Flamen Martialis poured

libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substanc ...

s in honour of Acca Laurentia, wife of

Faustulus In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infant Romulus (the future founder of the city of Rome) and his twin brother Remus along the banks of the Tiber River as they were being suckled by the she-wolf, Lupa. According to lege ...

, the foster-father of the Rome's twin founders, Romulus and Remus. It is assumed by modern scholars, though nowhere specifically stated in any ancient source, that the Flamen Martialis presided over the

October Horse In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the October Horse (Latin ''Equus October'') was an animal sacrifice to Mars (mythology), Mars carried out on October 15, coinciding with the end of the Roman agriculture, agricultural and mili ...

, a sacrifice of a horse to Mars in the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

. 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 maximus Lucius Caecilius Metellus invoked the prohibition against a Flamen Martialis leaving the city.

List of ''Flamines Martiales''

The priesthood was held for life; dates given below represent the year in which the priesthood is recorded. * Aulus Postumius Albinus (consul 242 BC), c. 244 BC. * Marcus Aemilius Regillus, d. 204 BC. * Tiberius Veturius Philo, his successor in 204 BC. *Publius Quinctilius Varus, d. 169 BC. * Lucius Postumius Albinus, consul 154 BC, successor of the preceding in 168 until his death during his consulship. *Lucius Valerius Flaccus, consul 131 BC. He probably succeeded L. Postumius Albinus in 154 BC. *

Lucius Valerius Flaccus Lucius Valerius Flaccus may refer to: * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 261 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 195 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 131 BC), Flamen Martialis * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 100 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flacc ...

, consul 100 BC and '' princeps senatus'' in 86 BC. * 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. * Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, c. 25 BC *

Gaius Junius Silanus Gaius Junius Silanus was a Roman Senator active during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He acceded to the rank of Roman consul in 10 AD as the colleague of Publius Cornelius Dolabella. For the term 20/21 the sortition selected him to be proco ...

, AD 10.''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

'', ; 1940, 59, 60.

References

This article is based on a portion of the articl
"Flamen"
in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1875), in the public domain. {{Reflist Ancient Roman religious titles Ares