A fetial (; la, fētiālis , . la, fētiālēs, label=none) was a type of priest in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

. They formed a ''

collegium A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...

'' devoted to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

as the patron of good faith. The duties of the fetials included advising the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on foreign affairs and international treaties, making formal proclamations of peace and of war, and confirming treaties. They also carried out the functions of traveling heralds or ambassadors (''Pater Patratus''). The first mention of the fetials by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

occurs in the context of the war between Alba Longa and Rome, during which the Roman king

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, bel ...

appointed Marcus Valerius as a fetial and Spurius Fusius as ''pater patratus'', for the purpose of binding Rome and Alba Longa by a treaty. According to Livy, the ritual by which the fetials were to declare war, the ritual of ''rerum repetitio'', was introduced to Rome by

Ancus Marcius Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the assembly of the people who ...

, borrowing on the traditions of the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

colae. However, he had already described the ritual actions of the fetials when recording the wars of

. Thus some scholars think the mentions of the Aequi may be a misinterpretation due to a folk etymology connecting Aequi to ''aequus'', the Latin adjective for fair (from which ''equitable'' in English). On the other hand ancient sources support the tradition that the priesthood was created under the influence of Aequian king Fertor Resius.

''Rerum repetitio''

The ritual of ''rerum repetitio'', a request of restitution or reparations, involved the ''pater patratus''. Wearing a woolen hair-band, he was to announce Roman demands using a series of prescribed phrases, first at the enemy's frontier, then when he passes over the borders, again to the first man he meets, again on entering the enemy's gate, and again on entering the forum in the presence of local magistrates. If the demands are not met, the ''pater patratus'' declares war within 33 days and returns to Rome to await the resolution of the

King of Rome The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 50 ...

and Senate. Once they have resolved to go to war, a fetial returns to the enemy frontier carrying a javelin with a steel or fire-hardened tip and dipped in blood. He declares war on the enemy, and throws the javelin into their territory. The fetial is connected to matters of law and not directly to war, hence in his formulae he never invokes Mars, but Jupiter, Juno (or perhaps Janus) and Quirinus. The religious relevance of the collegium or ''sodalitas'' lay in ensuring that Rome enjoyed the protection of gods in its relationships with foreign states. This ''collegium'' was probably common to other Latin cities as Livy makes reference to the ''fetials'' of Alba.

Etymology

According to some scholars, the name derives from the noun root *''feti-'', which means 'foundation' and not 'stipulation'. It is allied to the basic religious concept of ''fas'', both being rooted in IE *''dh(e)s'', originally meaning 'to set, setting'. This root has given the verb ''facere'', 'to do, make' by a semantic shift. Both ''fetial'' and ''fas'' preserve the original sense of 'foundation' here, as in Vedic ''dhaman'', ''dhatu'' in its religious sense.

Religious implications

The implications of this etymology would hint to the fact that outside their own ''ager'' Romans felt the need for a religious, founding justification of their actions as a people toward other ones. A need was felt to go beyond the sphere of human law or right. While juridical justification was acknowledged as necessary Romans wanted to ensure the approval of what founds right and makes it possible, the fas. This attitude is testified by the ceremonies held by the ''fetials'' that confer religious value to political decisions and specifications in their dealing with foreign nations, aimed at placing the gods on the side of Rome and hence effectively entrusting to them the fate of Rome.

Details of the operative duties of the fetials

The ''sodalitas'' dispatched two of its members, of whom only one, called the ''pater patratus'', was active, while the other, called ''verbenarius'', was limited in function to accompanying the ''pater patratus'' with sacred herbs (''sagmina'' of vervain) gathered on the

Capitolium A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A capitolium was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the Augu ...

. We know the ceremonies and formulae of two circumstances: (1) conclusion of a treaty and (2) request of reparations and declaration of war. In the first circumstance the ''pater patratus'' called bystanders and the gods to witness, staked the word of Rome, and vowed Rome to divine wrath if it should not abide by its word, asking for ''execratio''. Oaths were made by Jupiter Lapis (''per Iovem Lapidem''). The flintstone was believed to be a seat of Jupiter's because if struck it emitted sparks, thus being analogous to lightning. The ceremony has two known variants. In the first one the ''pater patratus'' hits a pig with flintstone taken from the temple of

Jupiter Feretrius The numerous epithets of Jupiter indicate the importance and variety of the god's cult in ancient Roman religion. Capitoline cult Jupiter's most ancient attested forms of cult are those of the state. The most important of his sanctuaries in Rome ...

pronouncing the ''formula'' referred by Livy; in the second he throws the flintstone and vows Rome to fall as the stone itself if it should fail to abide by the oath. When Rome asked for reparations for an offense or damage, the fetials were sent as ambassadors to the foreign country concerned. If the requests borne by the ''pater patratus'' were not met, he went back to Rome after invoking Jupiter, Juno (or Janus), and Quirinus, along with the heavenly gods, the terrestrial gods, and the gods of the netherworld as witnesses of the violation of the ''ius'' and after declaring war within 30 or 33 days. When this period of time had expired he went back to the border and opened the hostilities with a magic gesture: while affirming once again the good right of Rome he threw a spear with steel point or a javelin of ''corniolum'' hardened with fire into the enemy's territory. The fetials were a common institution of the Latins and of other Italic people. According to G. Dumézil, the initial contract concluded with the gods and extended through the ''sacra'' and the ''signa'' is sufficient to justify the acts of official religious authorities (such as pontiffs and augurs) within the Roman ''ager''. Actions beyond this boundary require an additional religious foundation, based not only on ''

ius __NOTOC__ ''Ius'' or ''Jus'' (Latin, plural ''iura'') in ancient Rome was a right to which a citizen (''civis'') was entitled by virtue of his citizenship (''civitas''). The ''iura'' were specified by laws, so ''ius'' sometimes meant law. As one ...

'' but also, on a deeper level, the ''fas'' on which ''ius'' is based. This is the task of the fetials who achieve their aim through the *''feti-'', word that as Vedic ''dhātu'' means ''founding''. They rely on a set of ceremonies that bestow a religious value on the political or military decisions of the magistrates, ensuring that under any circumstance Rome has the gods on her side. Besides offering their advice on international issues to the senate or the consuls, the ''sodalitas'' dispatches two envoys (the ''pater patratus'' and the ''verbenarius'', the last one having only the task of carrying the ''sagmina'' taken from the Capitol Hill) to ask for the reparations, to declare war in a form that is pious and just, and lastly to conclude the peace. The god under whose protection they act and whom the ''pater patratus'' invokes is ''Iupiter Lapis'' in the rite of the conclusion of a treaty and in general when there an agreement is reached. If a declaration of war ensues the fetial calls as witnesses Jupiter, Juno (or Janus, correction accepted by most editors), Quirinus, the heavenly, earthly and nether gods of the violation of the ''ius'' and declares war within thirty-three days.Livy I.32.10.

Political implications of the ''ius fetiale''

The author of Cicero's apocryphal speech of Furius Filus and the Christian apologists blamed the Romans for craftily using the ''ius fetiale'' in order to ensure divine support for Rome in international disputes. They allege that Romans were not moved by a desire for justice in their use of the ''ius fetiale'', but rather bent its rules and made a disproportionately excessive use of its technicalities to acquire an undue advantage over other peoples with the ultimate goal of stealing their lands and riches.

References

There are two conflicting footnotes -- #1 and #7 -- for the same term, pater patratus.

Sources

{{Wiktionary *

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

'', 1:24, 32 *Lit. Andreas Zack, Studien zum "Römischen Völkerrecht" (Göttingen 2001) *Pierangelo Catalano ''Linee del sistema sovrannazionale romano'' Torino, 1965 Ancient Roman religious titles Foreign relations of ancient Rome