THE PONTIFICAL LAW OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC by MICHAEL JOSEPH JOHNSON A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Classics written under the direct of T. Corey Brennan and approved by ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2007 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Pontifical Law of the Roman Republic by MICHAEL JOSEPH JOHNSON Dissertation Director: T. Corey Brennan This dissertation investigates the guiding principle of arguably the most important religious authority in ancient Rome, the pontifical college. Chapter One introduces the subject and discusses the hypothesis the dissertation will advance. Chapter Two examines the place of the college within Roman law and religion, giving particular attention to disproving several widely held notions about the relationship of the pontifical law to the civil and sacral law. Chapter Three offers the first detailed examination of the duties of the pontifical college as a collective body. I spend the bulk of the chapter analyzing two of the three collegiate duties I identify: the issuing of documents known as decrees and responses and the supervision of the Vestal Virgins. I analyze all decrees and responses from the point of view their content, treating first those that concern dedications, then those on the calendar, and finally those on vows. In doing so my goal is to understand the reasoning behind the decree and the major theological doctrines underpinning it. In documenting the pontifical supervision of Vestal Virgins I focus on the college's actions towards a Vestal accused of losing her chastity. I first reconstruct a typical trial from suspicion to condemnation. In doing so, one of my more important conclusions is that, pace Mommsen, the pontifex maximus did not possess the power to condemn a Vestal on his ii own without consulting his colleagues. After this I turn to a detailed analysis of the two decrees issued in connection with these trials. Most important is my contention that it was not so much the Vestal's lost chastity as her performance while unchaste of certain religious rites that gravely jeopardized the pax deorum , Rome's relationship with its gods. Chapter Four contains a summary of my findings and outlines future directions for fruitful research on the pontiffs and pontifical law. The work ends with an appendix in which I reproduce and translate all known passages in Latin that refer to the pontifical law. This appendix should be a useful and convenient reference tool for other scholars working on the pontiffs and pontifical law. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not exist without the support and help of many people. To two in particular I owe a debt I fear I cannot repay. My advisor, T. Corey Brennan, suggested the topic and saw it to completion with his inimitable flair for combining unfailingly shrewd and helpful advice with unstinting encouragement and support on all matters great and small; he never wavered in his belief that I would finish and finish well. But for him I would still be writing, with no end in sight. Jerzy Linderski generously agreed to read the dissertation, and his comments both saved me from many grievous errors and also pointed me in an inevitably more interesting and fruitful direction. The counsel, kindness, and sense of humor that he and Deedra provided are indispensable and seemingly inexhaustible resources upon which I have drawn and drawn heavily throughout my time in graduate school. Much, too, I owe to Thomas Figueira. His wide-ranging comments improved my prose, corrected my translations, and showed me how to construct a stronger argument. To read his remarks was to learn how to combine successfully the respective crafts of the historian and the philologist. Sarolta Takács brought to the dissertation her expertise in Roman religion, and her insights proved particularly helpful for the section on the Vestal Virgins. This dissertation also benefited from the generosity of Rutgers University and its Transliteratures Program, which provided me with five years of generous funding and, in the person of its director, Uri Eisenzweig, a welcome source of encouragement and wry humor. I was fortunate to spend my final year of graduate school at the American Academy in Rome as holder of that institution's Arthur Ross Pre-Doctoral Rome Prize. My time at iv the Academy was beyond description and improved my dissertation in ways too numerable to mention; to the Academy, its staff, and Mr. Arthur Ross I give my sincerest thanks. While at the Academy I benefited from the expertise of several people: Tom McGinn read and gave incisive comments on a sizeable portion of this dissertation, and both he and Carmela Vircillo Franklin gave generously of their time to advise and comment on my work. I thank Hendrik Dey for introducing me to soccer, sport of kings (and barbarians). In addition, both he and Lisa Mignone supplied much support, enthusiasm, and good humor, which saw me through several rough spots during my year in Rome and made my time there more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been. I also thank the Fondazione Lemmermann for financial support during my year in Rome. Several colleagues deserve much more than the meager thanks I can offer them here. Jeff Becker and Hilary Becker have always supplied a ready ear and abundant enthusiasm for discussing all things Roman; from them I have learned much; their encouragement has been invaluable. Thanks, too, to Jeff and Lisa Beneker; their friendship and advice have been one of the highlights of graduate school. The same should be said of Dennis McKay, without whose humor, support, and friendship I could never have finished this dissertation. Kevin Muse has continuously provided a sympathetic ear, prudent advice, and a matchless model of scholarly excellence, all of which were of inestimable help in seeing me through graduate school. To him and Vida Muse I offer heartfelt thanks. I have lost count of the number of times Andrew Scott and Alissa Vaillancourt went far beyond the obligations of friendship in the support they provided; I hope to be able to repay them. v I would also like to thank Eileen Torrence and Michael Cusick for first teaching me Latin; Jorge Taracido, for providing me with an important means to survive graduate school; and David Christiansen, Clifton Kreps, and Rebecca Harrison, for all that they taught me. My family and friends have been my biggest resource; without them I could not have started, let alone finished, graduate school. I thank Nate Alexander, Linda Bierley, Christian and Nick Blackburn, Bernice and Joe Diesko, Joe Diesko, Jr., George Diesko, Rody, Lena, Hildur Ek, Ryan Fowler, Gary and Ginger Johnson, Kevin and Christy Johnson, Wally and Evelyn Johnson, Bobby Jones, Jared Kuntz, George Brett, Larry Kowerski, Debra Nousek, Peter Parisi, Scott Poston, Steve Prefontaine, Sophie, Simon, Rebecca Vinduska, and Fred Zimmerman for their friendship and help. The greatest of all debts I owe to my immediate family, my parents, Greg and Kathy, and my brothers, Steve and Joe; these few words are poor recompense for their steadfast and unflagging support. Lastly, I thank Max, who has provided only joy and wonder. I dedicate this work to him. vi DEDICATION For Max vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ………………………………………….... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………………... iv DEDICATION ……………………………………………………………………… vii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………… viii LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………….. xi 1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………….. 1 1.1 Plan of study …………………………………………………………………. 6 1.2 Sources for the pontifical law ………………………………………………... 15 1.3 Review of scholarship ……………………………………………………….. 17 2. THE PONTIFICAL LAW AND ROMAN RELIGION ..……………………….. 21 2.1 Defining the pontifical law …………………………………………………... 23 2.1.1 Berger's definition …………………………………………..…………. 24 2.2 The pontiffs and the civil law ……………………………………………….. 28 2.2.1 " pontificem bonum neminem esse , nisi qui ius ciuile cognosset " .…….. 30 2.2.2 Conclusions ………………..………………………………………….. 46 2.3 The pontiffs and Roman religion ……………..……………………………... 48 2.3.1 Latin terms for 'pontifical law' .………………………………………... 49 2.3.2 The pontiffs and the state religion …………….………………………. 64 2.3.3 pontifices praesunt …………………………………………………..… 71 2.3.4 sacra et caerimoniae …………………………………………………... 75 2.3.4.1 The pontiffs and the ius sacrum …………………………….…… 85 2.3.4.2 The pontiffs and the ius sacrorum .………………………………. 90 viii 2.3.4.3 The pontiffs and the ius caerimoniarum ……..………………….. 108 2.3.4.4 Summarizing comments …………………………………………. 112 2.4 Additional areas of the pontifical law ………………………………..…….... 113 2.5 Conclusion: defining the pontifical law, part II …………………………….. 117 3. THE DUTIES OF THE PONTIFICAL COLLEGE ……………………………. 120 3.1 Individual vs. collegiate duties ……………………………………………… 123 3.2 Keeping the pontifical discipline ……………………………………………. 128 3.3 decreta et responsa ………………………………………………………….. 132 3.3.1 decreta initiated by the college ………………………………………... 134 3.3.1.1 decretum de feriis praecidaneis …………………………………... 135 3.3.1.2 Another possibly self-initiated decretum …………………………. 142 3.3.2 decreta initiated by outside agent ……………………………………... 143 3.3.2.1 Procedural observations …………………………………………... 143 3.3.2.2 The location of meetings of the pontifical