Көне Рим дін қызметкерлері: Фламендер

Priest in ancient Rome

A flamen (plural flamines) was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three flamines maiores (or "major priests"), who served the important Roman gods Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores ("lesser priests"). Two of the minores served deities whose names are now unknown; among the others are deities about whom little is known other than the name. During the Imperial era, the cult of a deified emperor ([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#divus) also had a flamen. The fifteen Republican flamens were members of the Pontifical College, who administered state sponsored religion. When the office of flamen was vacant, a [[College of Pontiffs could serve as a temporary replacement, although only the pontifex maximus is known to have substituted for the Flamen Dialis, one of the flamines maiores.

The etymology of flamen remains obscure, and perhaps undecidable. The term is traditionally connected with the Proto Germanic verb *blōtaną ("to sacrifice"; cf. Gothic blotan), by positing a Proto Indo European stem *bʰleh₂d m(e)n (or *bʰleh₂g m(e)n ), which could have originally meant "sacrifice". However, the link remains uncertain since it is impossible to decide whether the Latin form reflects an earlier flă men, flăd men or flăg smen. Dumézil himself notes that the etymology has problems in terms of phonological shifts, and the cognates have not been universally accepted by modern scholars. Andrew Sihler considers the claim that flamen might be a cognate of the Vedic term to be as plausible. He notes that the hypothesis of a connection to Gothic blotan and via Proto Indo European *bʰleh₂d m(e)n is equally plausible. The flamines were circumscribed by many taboos. The flamen was a sacred position within Roman society; however, it could be used for political purposes. Certain people could be appointed as flamines to stop them from gaining power. For example, flamines were not allowed to ride a horse; therefore, this would make it extremely difficult for such a person to lead and command an army. By attaining such a position, the flamines were not permitted to run or hold a political office. There may have been flamines appointed simply to stop their progression in power and politics for reasons such as making enemies or simply jealousy. In post Antiquity usage, the designation "flamen" can apply, by extension, to priests in general.

The flamen was a high position within Roman society and religion. Therefore, the selection process was difficult for those wishing to be chosen as flamen. In the case of the Flamen Dialis, they were appointed by the Pontifex Maximus. By the Pontifical College, three nominations were given to the pontifex maximus, those whom Romans believed to be the most worthy of such position. The Pontifex Maximus did not just select a new Flamen Dialis, but "scrutinized each candidate's qualifications in order to ensure that he and his wife were fit to serve." After the flamen and his wife were chosen, they then had to participate in a Roman tradition and ceremony known as captio. This ceremony was performed by an augur. It was the augur's job to make sure the gods would accept the new flamen. This was done by asking for the king of the gods, Jupiter's blessing, and the gods would respond by providing the proper signs to the people. These ceremonies were known as comitia calata ("callate assemblies") and they were performed on the Capitoline Hill.

Such a position in Roman society came with many privileges which in turn gave flamines a unique power. In law and criminal courts, the flamen wielded great power. When a person was deemed a criminal, they could appeal to a flamen, who had the power of pardoning criminals. There were also several other privileges that the flamen possessed. According to Cyril Bailey these include: exemption from the Patria Potestas (lit. power of the father) of his father; the wearing of the toga praetexta; and, the privileges of having a lictor of his own, of sitting on the curule chair, and having an ex officio place in the Senate. During the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BCE, the flamines were also given a special task. In an attempt to preserve Roman culture and history, the flamines and other religious orders such as the vestals were in charge of the sacred and religious items of Rome. Their objective was to take these treasures out of Rome so they would not be destroyed by the Gauls. Ralph Mathisen writes, "Their sacred cult should not be abandoned as long as a single person survived to observe it". The flamines were also prohibited from many different actions and rituals. In the case of death, flamines were in charge of performing ritual sacrificing. However, other than that, contact with anything related to death was prohibited so that the flamen could partake in his religious duties. One extreme example was in the case of the flamen's wife (Latin, flaminica). They were not allowed to wear Calcei Morticini, "shoes made from the skin of an animal that had died of natural causes." Since the animal was not part of a religious ritual or offered to the gods, these shoes would be seen as impure and disrespectful to the gods. Another disadvantage for the flamines was that they "were also forbidden to touch, see, or refer to yeast, raw meat, goats, dogs, ivy, or beans," because it was thought that these could interfere with the flamen's religious practices. Most of these were associated with unsanitariness or death. When these flamines would have to perform ritual sacrifices, it was almost impossible for the flamen to avoid contact with raw meat. However, Roman accounts do not include such events in their writings.

A flamen had to be married. The flamen and his wife, the flaminica, were required to be patricians, and their parents had to be married through the ancient ceremony of confarreatio. This only applied to the flamen, because when they married his wife would become part of his family. Through the process of confarreatio, the wife would pass from the manus (hand) of her father to the hand of her husband. This transferred the father's authority to her husband who would also become part of the religious cult. It was necessary for the wife to be a virgin and previously unwed before marriage to a prospective flamen. The flamen and the wife served together. In the case of either's death, the surviving priest would then step down from their position. It was viewed as unlucky to be widowed. The flamen and flaminica could not separate or divorce. The only way to escape a marriage was through death, because, once they attained their positions, they became the property of the deity they were assigned to. Since they ruled together, they were also responsible for performing certain rituals together. During certain practices and rituals, the flamen and flaminica had to follow certain rules, such as leaving during purification rituals.

The official costume of a flamen, allegedly of great antiquity, was a hat called an apex and a heavy cloak called a laena. The laena was a double thick wool cloak with a fringed edge, and was worn over the flamen's toga with a clasp to hold it around his throat. The apex was a leather skull cap with a chin strap and a point of olive wood on its top, like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle. This was the traditional outfit during a ritual or sacrifice performed by the flamen. The flamen would not wear the laena on a daily occurrence. The flamen would also wear special shoes known as calcei. The flamen dress represented status. Only flamines were able to wear such a costume. It separated them from average citizens, politicians, and military figures. The responsibility for the creation of such a costume fell in the hands of the flaminica. The costume was handmade and a ritual blade known as secespikta was used in the process. The flamen couldn't perform his sacred duties without the flaminica. These positions of serving the gods were meant to be served together as husband and wife. This was a partnership where each person was dependent on the other. This is why, when one died, the other would have to step down, because they were not allowed to replace their partner or continue by themselves.