The (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "feasters"; sing. ''epulo'') was a religious organization of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. They arranged feasts and public banquets at

festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

and games (''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin:games; plural of "ludus") were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festiv ...

''). They constituted one of the four great

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

corporations (''quattuor amplissima collegia'') of ancient Roman priests.

Establishment and influence

The college was founded in 196 BC due to a law passed by Gaius Licinius Lucullus. The need for such a college arose as the increasingly elaborate festivals required experts to oversee their organization. They were tasked with attending and managing banquets known as ''epulum'' which were dedicated to the gods. One major epulum was the ''epulum jovis'' which was dedicated to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. Previously these banquets were managed by the '' pontiffs.'' There were four great

corporations (''quattuor amplissima collegia'') of ancient Roman priests; the two most important were the

College of Pontiffs The College of Pontiffs (; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Rome, ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the Religion in ancient Rome, state religion. The college consisted of the ''pontifex maximus'' an ...

and the college of

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

s; the fourth was the '' quindecimviri sacris faciundis''. The third college was the ''epulones''; their duties to arrange the feasts and public banquets for

and games ''(

)'' had originally been carried out by the pontiffs. The College of Epulones was established long after civil reforms had opened the magistracies and most priesthoods to

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

s, who were thus eligible from its beginning. Initially there were three ''epulones'', but later their number was increased to seven by

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

; hence they were also known as the ''septemviri epulonum'', "seven men of the sacrificial banquets".

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

expanded the college to ten, but after his death it was reduced back to seven. The college continued to exist into the fourth century, although it faded away due to the rise of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. The ''

patera In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''patera'' () or ''phiale'' ( ) is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation ('' omphalos'', "belly button") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, ...

'' was the sacred bowl used by the ''epulones''. It was shallow with a raised center so that when held in the palm, the thumb could be placed on the raised centre without profaning the

libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an Sacrifice, offering to a deity or spirit, or in Veneration of the dead, memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of Ancient history, antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures t ...

, as it is poured into the ''focus'', or sacred fire. The ''patera'' was the special emblem of the ''epulones''. The

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Wes ...

used today by Roman Catholic priests, omits the raised center.

References

External links

Lacus Curtius website: Epulones
from William Smith, ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', John Murray, London, 1875.

Patera * Ancient Roman religious titles {{AncientRome-stub