Garland

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion

Robert Garland
Subject: Ancient Religion
Online Publication Date: Apr 2016
DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.25
Summary and Keywords

The Christian word priest, which is generally used to translate the Greek word hiereus
and the Latin word sacerdos, only inadequately captures the essence of how those who
bore this title functioned and were perceived in Greek and Roman polytheism. Foremost
among the differences between pagan and Christian priests is the fact that the former did
not have any pastoral responsibilities, were not expected to lead exemplary lives, and did
not exist in a hierarchy under a centralized religious authority. Instead their duties were
largely liturgical and administrative, the proper performing of sacrifice and the upkeep of
the sanctuary being among the foremost. Methods of appointment variedsome
priesthoods were reserved within specific kin-groups, others were available to the entire
citizen body, and still others could be sold to the highest bidder.
There were, however, important distinctions between Greek and Roman priests. In the
Roman world, for instance, there were far fewer priestesses and a closer connection
between religion and politics. In both systems, however, religion provided important
outlets for women, not least by presenting them with a unique opportunity to enhance
their social status. In Rome the connection between religion and politics strengthened
over time. Under the Augustan Principate the position of pontifex maximus, a kind of high
priest, became central to the identity of the princeps and was filled by all his successors
at least until the late-4th century. The Graeco-Roman world also had a variety of other
religious personnel, who performed important functions like the supervising of temple
finances or the expounding of sacral law. Among the most important were seers or
diviners, who produced oracles and had the expertise to interpret omens.
Keywords: Athens, Graeco-Roman, priests, priestesses, religion, seer, Vestal Virgins, paganism, polytheism, Rome
The word priest, which derives from the Greek presbuteros meaning elder via the
Latin presbyter, is often loosely applied to those who officiated in polytheistic systems of
belief. Though no English word comes closer in meaning, this is regrettable, since almost
none of the Christian associations apply to the pagan office of priesthood.1 The Greek
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word hiereus (hiereia in the case of a priestess), which first appears in Linear B tablets in
the form ijereu, denotes one who is in charge of the hiera, just as the Latin word sacerdos
denotes one who is in charge of the sacra, namely, the sacred objects that were stored
inside the sanctuary and the sacred rites that were performed on behalf of the deity, chief
of which was the sacrifice. The principal connection is that in both the Christian and the
Graeco-Roman traditions priest denotes someone who officiates in a sanctuary and
performs sacred rites in that space. But there the equivalence, even the similarity, ends.
In fact the differences between the pagan and Christian worlds in this respect as in
others are profound.
First and foremost there was no Church in either Greek or Roman religion. Instead
there was only the polis and the respublica, and their subdivisions, including the family,
under whose authority all religious observances took place. A further complication is that
in both Greece and Rome priestly activity ... is undertaken by many more people than
the obvious priests; while those priests also perform functions that we would not
readily call priestly.2 Neither Greek nor Roman religion observed any distinction
between the priesthood and the laity, comparable to that which exists in Christianity.
There was no conflict of interest in holding high military, political, and religious office.
Indeed some political offices were, broadly speaking, priestly. A few priests held titles
and discharged functions that evoked the period when kings had performed priestly
duties, such as the basileus in Athens and the rex sacrorum in Rome. In Sparta and
elsewhere, where kingship continued into historical times, the king functioned as high
priest. It is important to emphasize, however, that in Classical Athens the dmos was the
supreme arbiter of all major decisions relating to religion, just as in Republican Rome the
senate exercised ultimate authority. Neither the dmos nor the senate (still less the
emperor in the imperial period) was obliged to seek advice from any priest.3
Qualifications and Methods of Appointment

Neither in Greece nor in Rome did priests belong to a priestly caste, which meant that
any Greek or Roman male could perform sacral duties, and might do so regularly on
behalf of their household gods. The head of the Greek household made daily offerings to
Apollo Agyieus (protector of entrances), Zeus Herkeios (protector of boundaries), and
Zeus Ktesios (protector of property), as did the head of the Roman household, known as
the paterfamilias, to the lares (protectors of the household) and penates (protectors of the
store-cupboard). They also presided over rituals connected with birth, marriage, and
death. It is unclear in both cases whether the priestly duties of the head of the household
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were assumed by his wife when he was called away on duty if no other free adult male
resided under his roof.
In the public sphere the main qualification for priestly office was to be a citizen who was
holoklros or physically whole (Laws 6.759c; Gell. Attic Nights 1.12.4). Dionysius of
Halicarnassus claims that in Rome this requirement was introduced by Romes first king
Romulus. The same authority says that Romulus also decreed that priests should be of
good birth, at least fifty years of age, of unstained character, and financially solvent
(2.21.3). Preference might sometimes be given to those who were handsome and
strong, as in the case of the priest of Ismenian Apollo in Boeotia (Paus. 9.10.4). At Aigion
the priest of Zeus was originally chosen from among the boys who won the beauty
contest (7.24.4). At both Patrai and Aigeira the priestess of Artemis had to be a
parthenos or virgin below marriageable years (7.19.1). It was essential that Vestal Virgins
should not have a speech impediment or be partially deaf or have any other bodily
defect, since if they stuttered or spoke out of turn, the ritual they were performing had
to be repeated (Gell. Attic Nights 1.12.3). It is not improbable that all priests were subject
to the same requirement. Criminals and other persons of bad character were ineligible
for priestly office, including army deserters, debtors, embezzlers, and male prostitutes.
In Athens priests and priestesses, like other state officials, had to undergo dokimasia
(scrutiny) before assuming office. This included verifying whether they regularly
performed cult on behalf of their household deities and dead relatives. On assuming
office they took an oath to perform their duties honorably by swearing on sacrificial
victims. At the end of their term they were required to undergo euthuna (examination),
which included providing an account of all the treasures and gifts within their charge.
Methods of appointment varied. In the Greek world many of the most important
priesthoods were reserved for members of a specific genos or noble kin group, whereas
others were open to the whole citizen body. For instance, the priesthoods of Athena
Polias (Of the city) and Poseidon Erechtheus in Athens were exclusive to women and
men respectively of the Eteoboutadai genos. A detail worth noting, however, is that the
two priesthoods were reserved in different branches of this genos. Initially perhaps all
Athenian priesthoods were filled from among the members of designated gen.4 The
reforms of Cleisthenes in 508/7 BCE saw the introduction of priesthoods to which all
citizens were eligible, and to our best knowledge no new cult was ever entrusted
henceforth to a genos. Thus the priestess of Athena Nike (Victory), whose cult was
established in the 440s, was recruited not from a genos but by lot from all Athenian
women (IG I3 35).5
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In Hellenistic Asia Minor some priesthoods were auctioned to the highest bidder (e.g.,
LSCG 77).6 Founders of sanctuaries often claimed the first priesthood and secured the
office, too, for their descendants for all eternity.7 Sometimes a worshiper would make a
donation of land or its equivalent in return for being awarded the priesthood, such as
Demon, who donated his house and garden to the sanctuary of Asclepius in Athens as a
source of revenue (IG II2 4969). We should not underestimate the possible benefits or
influence that might accrue from holding a priesthood. Epigraphical data testify that
those who held important priesthoods often used their position to advance the interests
of their friends and allies, as for instance by securing their promotion.
In early Rome only patricians were eligible for a priesthood and permitted to take the
auspices. Some priesthoods were exclusive to the members of a particular gens or noble
kin group. One such was the cult of Hercules in the Forum Boarium, which was first
under the control of the Potitii and Pinarii, and then of the Potitii alone, before becoming
a public cult in the final quarter of the 4th century BCE (Li. 9.29.911). By the 3rd century
BCE
most priestly offices in Rome had become available to plebeians. However, the three
senior flamines (the word is best translated as priests) were always patricians, as was
the rex sacrorum (king of sacred rites). In the imperial period some priesthoods became
the gift of the emperor.
In early times the members of the four Roman priestly collegia or colleges co-opted an
individual to their ranks whenever a vacancy arose. Following the passing of the lex
Domitia in 104 BCE, however, the existing members of the college produced a shortlist of
candidates and hotly contested elections were held, though the flamines were always coopted. Originally selected from among the other pontifices, from the mid-3rd century
onward the pontifex maximus or chief pontiff was popularly elected by only seventeen of
the thirty-five tribes, the seventeen in question being chosen by lot, in accordance with
the belief that allotment was the gods choice. Augustus boasted that when the previous
pontifex maximus Marcus Lepidus died and he stood for the office such numbers poured
into Rome from the whole of Italy for my election as had never been recorded
before (Achievements 10.2). Both the flamen Dialis or priest of Jupiter and the Vestal
Virgins were chosen by the pontifex maximus. When the office of Vestal Virgin fell vacant
he submitted a short list of twenty candidates to an assembly, which then appointed one
by lot. The verb used to denote the appointment of a Vestal was capere, meaning to
seize, because, as Aulus Gellius (AN 1.12.13) explains, the pontifex maximus seized her
by the hand from her fathers house as if she had been seized in war. Only girls aged
between six and ten from lite families whose parents were both living were eligible to
become Vestal Virgins. It was their task to tend the sacred flame of Vesta, the extinction
of which portended the destruction of the city.
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Religion was arguably the only public arena readily available to women. It has been
plausibly suggested on the basis of epigraphical evidence from the late 5th century
onwards that in Greece [a] sacerdotal office enhanced enormously the social position of
women.8 Under the Principate, too, lite women held important priesthoods, which they
used to attain visibility and influence, though the opportunities were far fewer. A notable
example of a prominent priestess is Eumachia, the sacerdos publica of Venus, patron
deity of Pompeii. Eumachia funded a large building near the forum for the fullers guild,
which she dedicated to the concordia Augusta (Augustan harmony) and to pietas
(piety).
Priests could be removed from office for failing to discharge their duties. In Athens in the
4th century BCE two self-styled priestesses were executed and the third, a courtesan
known as Phryne, escaped only by baring her breasts to the jury to excite pity (Hyperides
frs. 17180). Removal from office must have happened with some frequency in Rome,
given the fact that most priesthoods were lifetime appointments. Removal might be
occasioned merely by a technical error, as in the case of a flamen Dialis who resigned (or
was forced to resign) after handling inappropriately the entrails of a sacrificial victim (Li.
26.23.8). Hardly surprisingly, it would have been a profoundly humiliating experience for
the individual concerned, as we know from the fact that some ex-priests were driven to
commit suicide. If a priest was sent into exile, however, he was (or might be) permitted to
retain his office and title. This happened in the case of the pontifex maximus and triumvir
Marcus Lepidus, who was forced out of public life in 36 BCE but who retained his position
until his death twenty-three years later.
The Graeco-Roman priesthood was, not, however, a uniform institution. On the
contrary, there were very significant differences between the two religious systems. In
Greece priests mainly officiated on behalf of gods, and priestesses on behalf of
goddesses. In the Roman world we only occasionally hear of priestesses. Another
important difference was that though the Greek word hiereus denoted one who served a
particular deity, the Latin word sacerdos covered a wide range of functions. Unlike their
Greek counterparts, Roman priests were not for the most part attached to specific
sanctuaries. Instead they were appointed to festivals and to other spheres of religious
activity, such as augury. An exception is the flamines, who retained a much closer
relationship with a specific deity than was usually the case in Roman religion. The three
major flamines were attached to Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, often seen as a triad of
deities. However, it is virtually impossible to identify the thread that unified the variety of
religious personnel who were accorded the title of sacerdos.
Another important difference between the two systems is that holding a Greek
priesthood, though it may have invested the incumbent with some influence, was not a
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stepping-stone along the path of a political career. That is in contrast, say, to the office of
pontifex maximus in Rome, which significantly served to advance the young and aspiring
Julius Caesar.
Responsibilities and Status

Few priests were employed full-time. The onerousness of their duties depended on the
importance of the cult which they served. Their work was largely seasonal, heaviest at
festival time. Priests did not function in a pastoral role or concern themselves with the
welfare of those who worshipped in the sanctuary. They received no formal training.
Their expertise, so far as we can determine, was based solely on the experience that they
gained by observing others perform sacred rites. They were not required to live a life of
moral rectitude that the populace was expected to emulate. Though they might be called
upon to give advice about ritual, they were not theologians and their duties were for the
most part strictly liturgical and administrative. Liturgically it was their task to ensure
that correct cultic procedure was adhered to, particularly in regard to sacrifices. The
care of the cult statue was also in their hands. In Athens the priestess of Athena Polias
supervised the annual purification of the goddess venerable olive-wood statue in salt
water and its clothing in fresh raiment. In the Greek world, less in the Roman world,
priests and priestesses served as temple overseers with responsibility for the care and
upkeep of their sanctuary, a role not unlike that of a dean in a cathedral.
No priest exercised any special power qua priest when addressing the dmos or the
senate on matters outside his domain. Priests did not have any collective identity. There
is no evidence to indicate that they acted concertedly when a religious crisis occurred. If
a priest was deemed to have discharged his office successfully, approbation might be
expressed in the form of an inscription praising the incumbent for having acted well and
zealously.
A priesthood conferred prestige not least through the visibility it accorded. Homer states
that the priest of Idaean Zeus is honored by the people like a god (Il. 16.605). However,
priests were not de jure venerable, nor so far as we know were their persons sacrosanct.
Such venerability as they possessed was an expression of the sanctity of their office.
There were, however, exceptions. It was, for instance, a capital offence to pass beneath
the two-wheeled carriage that bore Vestal Virgins in the street, seemingly because to do
so would expose them to indecorous voyeurism.
A priesthood gave the holder privileged access to the divine, since any insult to the
deitys representative on earth was an insult to the deity. This principle is forcefully
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demonstrated at the beginning of the Iliad, when Chryses, the priest of Apollo, appeals to
the god to take revenge on Agamemnon for the abduction of his daughter. Apollo
responds by sending a plague, which ravishes the Achaean army for nine days until
Achilles calls an assembly to avert the crisis. It should, however, be noted that it is not
primarily the dishonoring of the priest but rather Agamemnons refusal to accept ransom
for his daughter out of respect for the son of Zeus, Apollo the far-shooter that provokes
Apollo to act (1.21).
Greek and Roman priests played no part in the rites de passage that mark the human life
cycle. The need to remain ritually pure prevented Greek priests from visiting a house of
mourning or attending a burial, and, though the pollution was weaker, they were also
debarred from being present at childbirth. The fact that Aulus Gellius mentions
specifically that the flamen Dialis never enters a place of burial and never touches a
corpse suggests that other Roman priests were not placed under the same restriction
(AN 10.15.24).
Though Graeco-Roman religion was not hierarchical, senior religious dignitaries existed
in both systems. In Athens the three most important archontes or magistrates possessed
religious authority. Of these the most senior was the basileus or king, so-named because
he was believed to have inherited the religious duties of the early kings of Athens. It was
his responsibility to oversee the most ancient religious rituals, including the Eleusinian
Mysteries, the Panathenaea, and the Lenaea, known collectively as ta patria; to preside
over trials involving asebeia or impiety; and to supervise the religious calendar, which,
being based on the lunar cycle, was constantly falling out of alignment with the solar
year. His wife, known as the basilinna or basilissa, meaning queen, performed religious
duties, too, notably by being given to Dionysus as his ceremonial bride at the Anthesteria
festival ([Dem.] 59.7377). Another important magistrate was the eponymous archon (sonamed because he gave his name to the year), who was in charge of ta epitheta, literally
the rites that had been added on, including the City Dionysia. Yet another was the
polemarch, who performed rituals connected with warfare, such as the annual
commemoration of those who died in battle. It is to be emphasized, however, that when
Athens became a radical democracy before the middle of the 5th century BCE the religious
authority of the archontes was transferred in part to the dmos.9
There is nothing to indicate that the priestly officials who served at the great panhellenic
shrines had any authority outside their sanctuary either, despite their enhanced visibility.
Owing to Delphis popularity, sometimes as many as three pythiai (priestesses of Pythian
Apollo) served concurrently at the oracular shrine, though it remains unclear how their
role as the mouthpiece of the god affected their social status. Probably the only religious
official to achieve panhellenic name-recognition was the priestess of Hera at Argos,
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whose years in office were used as a chronological reference point (Thuc. 2.2.1).
However, name-recognition does not necessarily translate into enhanced status.
At the lower end of the religious scale the priests who served in the cults that were
housed in the 140-odd Attic demes (or townships) numbered in the thousands. There was
also an unknown number of phratry priests who presided at the Apatouria, a festival at
which new members were enrolled in hereditary phratriai or phratries (a word roughly
translated as brotherhoods). In addition to performing sacrifices, it was the duty of the
phratry priests, along with the phratriarch or phratry-leader, to expunge from the record
the name of any person illegally registered.
In Rome the senior religious figure was the pontifex maximus, the derivation of whose
title was a matter of speculation in antiquity. Varro (On the Latin Language 5.83) was of
the opinion that it derived from pons, bridge, on the grounds that the holder of this
office performed religious rituals on either side of the Sublician Bridge in Rome, which it
was also his duty to repair. Subordinate to the pontifex maximus was the rex sacrorum or
king for sacred rites, who assumed the religious functions of the king on the expulsion
of the last king Tarquinius Superbus in 509 BCE. It was the duty of the rex sacrorum to
administer the festal calendar and perform sacrifices each month on both the Kalends
(first day of the month) and the Nones (either seventh or ninth day of the month).
Ruler-cult was a distinctive form of worship with distinctive religious personnel. In Rome
from 7 BCE onwards the 265 vici (or wards of the city) elected officials known as magistri
and ministri, were primarily prominent freedmen, though their ranks also included
trusted slaves. They supervised the worship of Augustus lares (tutelary spirits) and
genius (something akin to his deified self). We also hear of the Augustales, high-ranking
freedmen who were associated with the imperial cult in the cities of the western Roman
empire. Some groups of Augustales were small, notably those who called themselves
seviri (six men), whereas others comprised several hundred. It remains doubtful to
what extent we can regard any of these officials as priests in the sense in which we have
been using the term, however. Outside Rome imperial cult was largely under the control
of the flamines, who administered the cult of divus Augustus, the deified Augustus, and
that of successive emperors after their deaths. The choice of the flamines was probably
due to the fact that they constituted a priesthood that was devoted to a single deity. In
general imperial cult provided opportunities for those of low social status to assume
priestly duties and thus express their devotion to the emperor.
Priests were distinguishable by their appearance and attire. Greek priests wore white or
purple robes, a headband known as a strophion, and a garland. They grew their hair long
and carried a staff. The pythia or priestess of Apollo Pythios at Delphi was required to
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dress as a virgin, irrespective of her age. The Vestal Virgins were required to adopt the
sex crines (six locks) hairstyle, which was worn by brides on the day of their marriage.
Some priests were identified by implements belonging to the rituals they performed.
Augurs carried a curved staff known as the lituus; flamines and haruspices wore a
distinctive conical cap with a projecting tip made of olive-wood known as an apex;
pontifices carried a ladle known as a simpuvium or simpulum; the XVviri sacris faciundis
bore an incense box known as an acerra; and finally the VIIviri epulonum carried a patera
or libation bowl. One of the most distinctive figures was the gallus, a priest of the
Phrygian deity Magna Mater or Great Mother, who wore female attire, a special
headdress, long ribbons attached to his hair, as well as a small breastplate depicting the
god Attis, and who carried a sprinkler and whip. Priestly attendants were also provided
with a variety of implements, notably for the performing of sacrifice, including axes,
daggers, and knives.
Terms of Service
Length of service was sometimes for life, sometimes for a year. In Athens the priesthood
of both Athena Polias and Athena Nike were for life, whereas the two priests of Asclepius,
one in the temple on the Acropolis, the other in the Piraeus, held office for only one year.
Those who held office for one year were sometimes eponymous, viz. they gave their name
to the year. By contrast most Roman priesthoods were held for life. There were, however,
exceptions. Vestal Virgins were permitted to step down after a thirty-year stint if they so
desired, and the flamen Dialis was required to resign if his wife, known as the flaminica,
died.
Chastity was enjoined on a small minority of priestesses, notably the pythia, who was at
first required to be a virgin and later a mature woman dressed as a virgin, as were the
fourteen gerarai (the term means of reverend bearing), who were Athenian priestesses
of Dionysus. If a Vestal Virgin was found guilty of breaking her vow of chastity, she was
buried alive near the Colline Gate under the supervision of the pontifex maximus (Plu.
Numa 10.47). If found guilty of a lesser offence, she was scourged. Rarely were priests
required to be celibate, except in some cases during festival time. Very exceptionally
priests were required to be eunuchs, such as the galli, who served the Magna Mater, and
the megabyxos (the Greek transliteration of a Persian word meaning literally set free by
God), who was the priest of Artemis-pis at Ephesus.10 A few priests were subject to
taboos, most notably the flamen Dialis, who could not ride a horse, observe an army
readied for battle, handle flames, take an oath, or wear clothing with a knot in it. He was
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thus debarred from military or political office. By the imperial period these taboos had
become the subject of antiquarian curiosity, as Aulus Gellius indicates (AN
10.15.125). The rex sacrorum was not permitted to hold any magistrate. No such
restriction was placed on the pontifex maximus, a position held by Julius Caesar and
Augustus and every subsequent emperor until the reign of the Emperor Gratian in the
late-4th century CE (see below).
In Greece, priests were routinely awarded ta hiersuna or sacred perquisites for their
services. This usually took the form of a portion (known as meris) of the meat that was
sacrificed in their sanctuary. Some also received a fee. From 460 BCE onwards the
priestess of Demeter at Eleusis received 1600 drachmas annually from the fees paid by
initiates at the Lesser and Greater Mysteries. Those who purchased a priesthood were
exempt from taxation (e.g., LSCG 77). In addition, many priests enjoyed proedria, the
privilege of sitting in the front seat in the theater, at the games, and in the assembly. The
priest of Dionysus sat in the center of the front row at all theatrical performances.
Priestly dwellings were the exception rather than the norm. In Eleusis there existed a
house for the priestess of Demeter. The pontifex maximus dwelt in the domus publica
(public residence) in the Roman Forum. The Vestal Virgins occupied a dwelling also in
the Forum known as the aedes Vestae (literally house of Vesta).
Seers and Diviners

A distinctive group of religious personnel were the seers and diviners, most of whom
were men. Homer identified seers among other highly valued itinerants as dmiourgoi
(literally those who work for the people), whose reputations were such that they were
invited from the ends of the earth (Od. 17.38286). They were known, apparently
indiscriminately, as either manteis or chrsmologoi, though the latter term means literally
deliverers of oracular utterances. Their expertise covered a wide range of activities,
including the interpretation of flights of birds, dreams, portents, and entrails. In historical
times seers were hired by individuals and consulted by states. They did not constitute a
group and had no formal title. Though it certainly helped to belong to a family that could
trace its lineage back several generations to a legendary seer, all one actually needed to
become a practitioner of the mantik techn (art of prophecy) was charisma, abundant
self-confidence, and, ideally, a collection of self-styled prophecies. Especially prominent
was the kin-group known as the Iamidae, who practised seercraft until the 3rd century
CE.11
Some seers, too, relied at least partly on inspiration. Herodotus (1.63.1) tells us of a
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chrsmologos called Amphilytus, who delivered his prophecy being

inspired (entheazn).
Seers were consulted before the state took a major decision, such as whether to join
battle or where to establish the boundaries of a new settlement. A military seer
commonly attended an army, either examining a victims entrails (usually a sheep) or
slitting a victims throat (usually a young goat) and observing its dying movements.12
Seers could not, however, intervene except by invitation. Other decisions of crucial
importance were referred directly to the god, primarily Apollo, less commonly Zeus,
through consultation at an oracular site.
Some seers received high honors, such as Teisamenus of Elis, who was granted Spartan
citizenship for his services as a military seer (Hdt. 9.35.1). They became prominent in
Athens at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE. A few acquired
considerable influence, such as Diopeithes, alleged author of the notorious psphisma or
resolution relating to the impeachment of those who do not acknowledge divine things
or who teach doctrines relating to the heavens, whom Aristophanes facetiously
described as great (Birds 988; cf. Plu. Per. 32.1).7 So far as we can tell, the backlash
that attended the failure of the Sicilian Expedition to which oracle-mongers had given
their backing does not seem to have had any lasting impact on the credibility of the
profession (Thuc. 8.1.1).
Given that there was a fundamental tension between political and military power on the
one hand and the divinely derived authority of seers on the other, it is hardly surprising
that they were occasionally accused of giving false interpretations for private gain.
Already in Homer their advice is received with pervasive scepticism even though their
prophecies invariably prove to be right, and this skepticism persists into the classical
era.13 Oedipuss taunting of the blind Teiresias for having eyes only for profit no doubt
drew appreciative nods from some members of Sophocless audience (OT 38089; cf. Ant.
103347), even though his prophecy turns out to be correct. Plato, too, was scathing
toward the profession, castigating agurtai (begging priests) and manteis who go to the
houses of rich men and persuade them that they hold power from the gods by virtue of
their sacrifices and spells (Rep. 2.364b). Such criticism speaks to the continuing
importance of seers in the 4th century.
In Rome a more formal arrangement existed between diviners (the preferred term for the
Roman counterpart) and the state. Two groups of diviners had official status: the augures,
who were experts in the practice (known variously as an ars, disciplina, or scientia) of
taking the auspices before any significant public action; and the XVviri sacris faciundis,
who were in charge of the Sibylline books (see OTHER RELIGIOUS PERSONNEL). In addition,
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there were the haruspices or readers of entrails of sacrificial victims, a practice known as
extispicy from exta meaning entrails, which was the augural technique that became
most popular from the late Republic onwards. Extispicywith ill omenwas allegedly
performed at Caesars house on the morning of his assassination (Dio 44.17.3).
Haruspices, who were descended from Etruscan nobles, comprised both a college of sixty
members and unaffiliated individuals who worked independently. They also interpreted
unnatural events known as prodigia (prodigies), including monstrous births and
rainstorms of blood. Because of the disparate functions they performed, however, it is
far from clear whether we are dealing with a variety of religious officials (all going under
the same name) or a single category.14
Diviners were assisted by lower-ranking officials, including the poppae and victimarii,
who performed the sacrifices, and the pularii, who read the auspices. One of the most
famous diviners in Roman literature is Spurinna, who warned Julius Caesar to beware the
Ides of March one month before his death, and who, when Caesar jocularly noted, The
Ides of March have come, replied menacingly, Yes, but they have not departed (Suet.
Divus Julius 81.2 and 4).
Other Religious Personnel

By the 5th century BCE there existed in the Greek world a variety of state-appointed
religious personnel who were responsible for the organization of festivals and the
handling of both income and expenditure relating to sanctuaries. They include the
epimeltai (overseers), who had responsibility for major festivals held on a quadrennial
basis; the epistatai (superintendents) and the hierotamiai (stewards of the hiera), who
scrutinized expenditure; and the hieropoioi (those who conduct the hiera), who
supervised the great public sacrifices, from the selection and purchase of the victims to
the sale of their pelfs. In addition, a priest in charge of a major sanctuary was assisted by
one or more neokoroi or sacristans, whose appointment is likely to have been informal.
Officiates known as paides amphithaleis (children blooming on both sides, i.e., those
whose fathers and mothers are still alive) performed a number of functions, including the
cutting of branches from the sacred olive trees at Olympia, from which wreaths were
fashioned for athletic victors (Poll. Onomast. 3.25). Parthenoi also played an important
part in cult. Notable among them were the two (or possibly four) arrhphoroi (bearers of
baskets), who, after being selected by the archon basileus, resided for one year on the
Acropolis, where they set the warp for the working of Athenas sacred peplos or woollen
dress.15
Page 12 of 21
Prominent among independent and self-regulating religious personnel were the exgtai
or expounders, viz. of sacred law, whose expertise was evoked by private individuals
whenever problems relating to religious observance arose. Exgtai might, for instance,
be called upon to pronounce upon the purificatory ritual to be adopted in a case of
homicide ([Dem.] 47.6871). They did not possess any institutionally sanctioned powers of
enforcement, however, and though they might have intimidated (by indicating the dire
consequences of ignoring their advice), they could not coerce. Nor do we know whether
they ever expounded at the request of the dmos. It is unclear whether Platos highly
unflattering portrait of the exgts Euthyphro, who has the temerity to prosecute his
own father, is an ad hominem attack or an attack on the profession as a whole.
A number of religious personnel were exclusive to a single cult. They include the
hierophants, who revealed the hiera or sacred objects at the most solemn moment in the
initiation ceremony of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the dadouchos or torch-holder, who
probably provided lighting effects in the hall of initiation at the same ceremony. Another
distinctive group were the priests at Delphi, though it is unclear what precise function
they performed. The assumption that they interpreted the utterances of the pythia for
petitioners and/or rendered them into hexameter is no longer cherished in classical
scholarship due to lack of evidence.
In Rome there existed the quattuor amplissima collegia (four very powerful colleges),
whose members all bore the title of priest. Though there was no official hierarchy among
the colleges, in practice the most important was the college of pontifices. This included
the rex sacrorum, the pontifices themselves, the six sacerdotes Vestales, and the three
major and twelve minor flamines. The pontifices presided over state cult, including the
performing of sacrifices and the staging of festivals and games. They also advised
magistrates about sacral law and may even have intervened in disputed cases involving
civil law. The head of the pontificate was the pontifex maximus, who articulated the views
of his colleagues whenever the pontifical college was consulted by the senate. He, too,
however, was subject to the majority will of the pontifices. The second most important
college was that of the augures, originally comprising three patricians but increased to
sixteen with a predominance of plebeians by the time of Julius Caesar. Though their
primary duty was to interpret the auspices, they also gave their expert opinion on
occasions when it might be thought appropriate to ignore the auspices or remove some
ritual bar in order to initiate a public action. The third college was the XVviri sacris
faciundis, originally two (known as the duoviri or duumviri), later enlarged to ten (the
decimviri), and then to fifteen (the quindecimviri). The XVviri guarded the Sibylline books
(poems of prophecy written in Greek that were thought to derive from the regal period),
which they consulted when so directed by the senate. They also exercised oversight
Page 13 of 21
regarding the ritus Graecus (Greek rite), viz. the religious practices that the Romans
had taken over from the Greeks, and had the right to admit or refuse admission to any
new cult. Their importance is indicated by the fact that they were allegedly going to
propose that Caesar be declared king, thereby inducing the conspirators to advance the
date of his assassination (Dio 44.15.34). The fourth college was the VIIviri epulonum,
originally a body of three (the tresviri), later enlarged to seven (the septemviri), which
arranged public banquets at festivals and games.
In Republican times some members of the collegia enjoyed considerable political
influence by consulting the Sibylline books at times of emergency or by interpreting
omens. Julius Caesar broke with tradition by becoming a member of both the pontifical
and augural colleges. This precedent was later adopted by the emperors, with Nero being
a member of all four colleges. One of the religious innovations introduced by Augustus
was to unify the four collegia, so that, among other things, all their members participated
in the annual sacrifice to the pax Augusta or Augustan Peace (Achievements 12.2). In
consequence of this, their influence began to wane.16
Religious groups of minor importance were identified generally as sodales, a word
roughly translatable as companions. They included the fetiales, whose function was to
conclude treaties and make war; the fratres Arvales or Arval brethren, who were in
charge of the cult of the Dea Dia, a goddess associated with Ceres, and who later had
duties pertaining to the imperial cult; the Salii, who performed dance movements (their
name derives from the verb salire, to leap or dance) in honor of Mars dressed as
archaic Roman warriors; and finally the Luperci (perhaps protectors of the flock from
wolves), who, while running naked around the Palatine Hill at the Lupercalia festival,
struck women apparently in order to increase their fertility. Another group loosely
associated with religion were the astrologers. Though banned in 139 BCE on the grounds
that they were producing darkness that was profitable to themselves in the minds of
fickle and stupid people by their fraudulent interpretation of the stars (Valerius
Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.3.3), several emperors, including Augustus
and Tiberius, consulted them.
Cults that required their priests to shave their heads, fast, flagellate themselves, and in
some cases undergo castration, represented a very different image of the sacred from the
much more formal and controlled nature of traditional Roman religion and their officiants
existed on the margins of Roman society.17 The eunuch galli were denied citizenship,
could not inherit, and depended on charity from the pious. Not surprisingly, at times the
priests of this and other outlandish religious traditions faced considerable ridicule and
hostility (e.g., Juv. Sat. 6.51221). The emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus appeared in
the garb of a foreign priest of the Syrian god Elagabalus, whose name he took, though he
Page 14 of 21
was at pains to prepare the senate and the people in advance by displaying an enormous
painting of himself thus attired (Herodian 5.5.37).
There is evidence to suggest that some priests, notably those who served the Egyptian
deity Isis, took a more personal interest in the welfare of their devotees than traditional
priests. That is the impression we receive from Apuleiuss characterization of a priest of
Isis, who acts in a supportive role when the narrator Lucius, both over-eager and anxious,
is preparing to undergo initiation in the goddesss cult (Metam. 11.21). We should bear in
mind, however, that this testimony is late and that polytheism in the 2nd century CE may
have encouraged closer ties between priests and worshipers as a response to
Christianity.
As already noted, on the death of Marcus Lepidus in 12 BCE, Augustus became pontifex
maximus. It was in keeping with his shrewd political judgment that he had not wrested
the office from Lepidus during his lifetime. Such was the importance of the office to the
institution of the Principate that it came to feature as an inseparable part of imperial
identity, as we see from the fact that the letters PM appeared after the emperors name
on the imperial coinage. Relatedly, Augustus also assumed the role of augur so that he
could take the auspices before embarking on a military campaign.
Henceforth the fragmentation of religious authority that had been a feature of both Greek
and Roman religion was replaced by a centralized system concentrated on a single
human face.18 It is also revealing that Augustuss preferred mode of depiction was in the
guise of a priest who was either praying or performing a sacrificean image that was
adopted throughout the Roman world by persons of all social station when being honored
with a statue for their services.19 Though no one knew it at the time, the self-presentation
of the Roman emperor as Christs vicar on earth was prepared for in the early years of
the Principate.
Review of the Literature

The focus in this essay has been Classical Athens and Late Republican/Early Imperial
Rome. As North has pointed out, a full understanding of the priesthood is not always a
question of discovering simply what priests did, but also how their activity was seen and
paraded, in other words, how they were perceived in the community.20 Though the
details of priestly activity in all their manifold variety are an object of fascination, it is
essential to keep this important insight in mind.
Page 15 of 21
Establishing a Graeco-Roman priesthood as a secure category of investigation has proved

highly elusive to scholars. Max Weber attempted to differentiate priests, that is, those
who entreat the deity by means of sacrifice and prayer, from magicians, that is, those
who coerce the deity by means of formula and ritual, although that distinction hardly
applies to the Graeco-Roman priesthood. Beard and Norths edited volume Pagan Priests,
which incorporates information from the Near East as well as from Greece and Rome,
advances the debate by emphasizing the complexities and inconsistencies inherent in the
categorization.21 Parkers Athenian Religion: A History is the most detailed investigation
of the Athenian priesthood, though it acknowledges that [o]ur picture of the history of
priesthood at Athens has to be almost recklessly impressionistic.22 Beard, North, and
Prices edited two-volume Religions of Rome stresses the centrality of religion, and hence,
of the priesthood, to both politics and war in Rome, while also providing an invaluable
compendium of source material.23 Dignas and Trampedachs edited volume Practitioners
of the Divine, whose title self-consciously avoids the term priest, contains a nuanced set
of essays that grapple with the varied roles performed by religious personnel in the Greek
world.24 M. Flowers The Seer in Ancient Greece represents a significant advance in our
understanding of the Greek mantis.25
Primary Sources
Neither Greece nor Rome had any work comparable to the Koran or the Bible. For Greek
priests and religious personnel we are largely dependent on literature, most of it
Athenian. Notable depictions include Chryses, the Trojan priest of Apollo, and the Greek
seer Calchas, both of whom appear in the Iliad; the seers Halitherses and Theoclymenus
in the Odyssey; the seers Hegesistratus and Teisamenus in Herodotus; the pythia in
Aeschyluss Eumenides; the seer Teiresias in Sophocless Oedipus Turannos and
Antigone; the priestess Theano in Euripidess Helen, the priestess Iphigenia in his
Iphigenia in Tauris, and the nekoros (sacristan) Ion in his play of that name; the
unnamed seer in Aristophaness Birds; and the exgts or expounder (of sacred law)
Euthyphro in Platos dialog of that name. It is important, however, to note that these are
all literary constructs and should not be treated as objective portraits. In the Laws Plato
envisages a priesthood for the ideal city of Magnesia in Crete, the prescriptions for which
largely derive from those in his native city of Athens (6.759a60a, etc.).
Roman depictions of priestly officials include the priestess of both Phoebus Apollo and
Trivia in Virgils Aeneid, the priest Arruns, who makes an appearance both in the Aeneid
and in Lucans Pharsalia, and the priest of Isis in Apuleius Golden Ass. Our knowledge of
Page 16 of 21
the Roman priesthood is, however, richer and more detailed than its Greek counterpart,
thanks in part to extensive descriptions of their duties in historical writings, and in part
to the survival of works devoted primarily to religion, such as Ciceros On Divination
and On the Response of the Haruspices.
Epigraphy, too, sheds an invaluable light upon priestly duties, methods of appointment,
emoluments and honors, and so forth. For instance, an inscription relating to the oracular
shrine of Amphiaraus near Oropus in Attica required that the priest spend a portion of
each month in the sanctuary, be available for those who wanted to sacrifice or spend the
night there, and fine anyone who committed a crime in the sanctuary (IG VII 235 =
SIG31004 = LGS 65).26 Inscriptions sometimes illuminate subjects that tend to be ignored
in the literary data, such as the high social status of Greek priestesses.
We also have pictorial images of priests in sculpture, vase painting and coinage. A
notable example in Roman sculpture is the great processional frieze on the exterior of the
structure surrounding the ara pacis Augustae (Altar of Peace of Augustus) in the
Campus Martius, which depicts members of the four chief priestly colleges togatus capite
velato (with the toga pulled up over ones head), indicating that they are about to
perform a sacrifice.
Further Reading
Beard, M. Priesthood in the Roman Republic. In Pagan Priests. Edited by M. Beard and
J. North, 1748. London: Duckworth, 1990.
Beard, M. and J. North, eds. Pagan Priests. London: Duckworth, 1990.
Beard, M., J. North, and S. Price, eds. Religions of Rome. 2 vols. Cambridge, U.K.:
Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Bremmer, J. Priestly Personnel of the Ephesian Artemision: Anatolian, Persian, Greek,
and Roman Aspects. In Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials
from Homer to Heliodorus. Edited by B. Dignas and K. Trampedach, 3753. Cambridge,
MA, and London: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2008.
Burkert, W. Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Translated by J. Raffan. Oxford: Basil
Blackwell, 1985.
Chaniotis, A. Priests as Ritual Experts in the Greek World. In Practitioners of the
Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus. Edited by B.
Page 17 of 21
Dignas and K. Trampedach, 1734. Cambridge, MA, and London: Center for Hellenic
Studies, 2008.
Connelly, J. B. Portrait of a Priestess. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.
Dignas, B., and K. Trampedach, eds. Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and
Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus. Cambridge, MA, and London: Center for
Hellenic Studies, 2008.
Flower, M. The Iamidae: A Mantic Family and its Public Image. In Practitioners of the
Studies, 2008.
Flower, M. The Seer in Ancient Greece. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.
Garland, R. S. J. Religious Authority in Archaic and Classical Athens. Annual of the
British School of Archaeology at Athens 79 (1984): 75123.
Garland, R. S. J. Priests and power in Classical Athens. In Pagan Priests. Edited by M.
Beard and J. North, 7391. London: Duckworth, 1990.
Gordon, R. L. Religion in the Roman Empire. In Pagan Priests. Edited by M. Beard and
J. North, 235255. London: Duckworth, 1990.
Henrichs, A. What is a Greek priest? In Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and
Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus. Edited by B. Dignas and K. Trampedach, 1
14. Cambridge, MA, and London: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2008.
Kron, U. Priesthoods, Dedications and Euergetism: What Part did Religion Play in the
Political and Social Status of Greek Women? In Religion and Power in the Ancient Greek
World. Edited by P. Hellstrm and B. Alroth, 139182. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis
Upsaliensis, 1996.
Mikalson, J. D. Ancient Greek Religion. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
North, J. Diviners and Divination at Rome. In Pagan Priests. Edited by M. Beard and J.
North, 4971. London: Duckworth, 1990.
Parker, R. Athenian Religion: A History. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
Trampedach, K. Authority Disputed: The Seer in Homeric Epic. In Practitioners of the
Page 18 of 21
Studies, 2008.
Zaidman, L. B. and P. S. Pantel. Religion in the Ancient Greek City. Translated by P.
Cartledge. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Zanker, P. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. Translated by A. Shapiro. Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1988.
Notes:
(1.) A. Henrichs, What is a Greek priest? in Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests
and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus, ed. B. Dignas and K. Trampedach
(Cambridge, MA, and London: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2008), 114.
(2.) M. Beard, Priesthood in the Roman Republic, in Pagan Priests, ed. M. Beard and J.
North (London: Duckworth, 1990), 1748.
(3.) The power of the Athenian dmos in matters of religion is indicated by the fate of a
certain hierophants called Archias, who underwent trial and punishment on a charge of
asebeia (impiety) for illegally performing a sacrifice at the Haloa festival ([Dem.]
59.116). A rare challenge to the states authority in matters of religion came in 415 BCE
when a priestess called Theano refused to curse Alcibiades for his alleged parody of the
Eleusinian Mysteries, declaring she was a praying not a cursing priestess (Plu. Alc.
22.4).
(4.) R. Parker, Athenian Religion: A History (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 65.
(5.) Inscriptiones Graecae. (Berlin: De Gruyter, etc. 18771981), hereafter IG; and Parker,
Athenian Religion, 125127.
(6.) F. Sokolowski, ed., Lois sacres des cites grecques (Paris: E. de Boccard, 1969),
hereafter LSCG.
(7.) W. Burkert, Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Translated by J. Raffan (Oxford:
Basil Blackwell, 1985), 96.
(8.) U. Kron, Priesthoods, Dedications and Euergetism: What Part did Religion Play in
the Political and Social Status of Greek Women?, in Religion and Power in the Ancient
Greek World, ed. P. Hellstrm and B. Alroth (Uppsala: Acta Universitatis, 1996), 139182
(p. 140).
Page 19 of 21
(9.) Parker, Athenian Religion, 124145.

(10.) J. Bremmer, Priestly Personnel of the Ephesian Artemision: Anatolian, Persian,
Greek, and Roman Aspects, in Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious
Officials from Homer to Heliodorus, ed. B. Dignas and K. Trampedach (Cambridge, MA,
and London: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2008), 3842.
(11.) M. Flower, The Iamidae: A Mantic Family and its Public Image, in Practitioners of
the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus, ed. B. Dignas
and K. Trampedach (Cambridge, MA, and London: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2008),
187206.
(12.) Flower, The Iamidae, 189.
(13.) K. Trampedach, Authority Disputed: The Seer in Homeric Epic, in Practitioners of
the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus, ed. B. Dignas
and K. Trampedach (Cambridge, MA, and London: Center for Hellenic Studies, 2008),
224.
(14.) M. Beard, J. North, and S. Price, eds., Religions of Rome. 2 vols. (Cambridge, U.K.:
Cambridge University Press, 1998), I, 20.
(15.) A. Kossatz-Desissmann, Kindheit und Jugend in der griechischen Welt, in
Thesaurus cultus et rituum antiquorum, vol. VI, 1761. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty
Museum, 2011, hereafter ThesCra VI.
(16.) P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. Translated by A. Shapiro
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1988), 121.
(17.) R. L. Gordon, Religion in the Roman Empire, in Pagan Priests, ed. M. Beard and J.
(18.) Beard, Priesthood in the Roman Republic, 48.
(19.) Zanker, The Power of Images, 129.
(20.) J. North, Diviners and Divination at Rome, in Pagan Priests, ed. M. Beard and J.
(21.) Beard and North, Pagan Priests.
(22.) Parker, Athenian Religion, 125.
(23.) Beard, North, and Price, Religions of Rome.
Page 20 of 21
(24.) Dignas and Trampedach, Practitioners of the Divine.

(25.) M. Flower, The Seer in Ancient Greece (Berkeley: University of California Press,
2008).
(26.) W. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum. 3d ed. 5 vols. (Leipzig: S. Hirzel,
191524), hereafter SIG3.
Robert Garland
Colgate University
Page 21 of 21

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Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion

Online Publication Date: Apr 2016

Summary and Keywords

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Qualifications and Methods of Appointment

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Responsibilities and Status

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Seers and Diviners

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

chrsmologos called Amphilytus, who delivered his prophecy being

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Other Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Review of the Literature

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Establishing a Graeco-Roman priesthood as a secure category of investigation has proved

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

(9.) Parker, Athenian Religion, 124145.

Greek and Roman Priests and Religious Personnel

(24.) Dignas and Trampedach, Practitioners of the Divine.

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