In
ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a
college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the
Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the
Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversaw the worship of any foreign gods which were introduced to Rome.
Originally these duties had been performed by ''
duumviri
The duumviri (Latin for "two men"), originally duoviri and also known in English as the duumvirs, were any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome. Such pairs of magistrates were appointed at various periods of Roman history both in Rome itse ...
'' (or ''duoviri''), two men of
patrician status. Their number was increased to ten by the
Licinian-Sextian Law in 367 BC, which also required for half of the priests to be
plebeian. During the
Middle Republic, members of the college were admitted through
co-option.
At some point in the third century BC, several priesthoods, probably including the ''quindecimviri'', began to be elected through the
voting tribes.
Andrew Lintott
Andrew William Lintott (born 9 December 1936) is a British classical scholar who specialises in the political and administrative history of ancient Rome, Roman law and epigraphy. He is an emeritus fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxfor ...
, ''The Constitution of the Roman Republic'' (Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 183–18
online.
/ref>
References
External links
in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities at LacusCurtius
Ancient Roman religious titles
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