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The next thing he did was to add to the two priests of Jupiter and Mars a third in honor of Romulus, whom he called the Flamen Quirinalis. The Romans anciently called their priests Flamines, by corruption of the word Pilamines, from a certain cap which they wore, called Pileus.

At any rate it can be shown that the Flamines, Salii, Luperci, and Vestales were institutions not special to Rome, but general among the Latins, and at least the first three colleges appear to have been formed in the kindred communities independently of the Roman model.

In later times the flamines still retain their original character, the pontifices and especially the pontifex maximus are responsible for the whole organisation of the state-religion and are the guardians and interpreters of religious lore. In the state-cult then the priests play a very important part, but their relation to the worship of the individual was very small indeed.

Indeed, several of these, which were destitute of political importance, were never interfered with, such as their exclusive eligibility to the offices of the three supreme -flamines- and that of -rex sacrorum- as well as to the membership of the colleges of Salii.

At any rate it can be shown that the Flamines, Salii, Luperci, and Vestales were institutions not special to Rome, but general among the Latins, and at least the first three colleges appear to have been formed in the kindred communities independently of the Roman model.

In the first place, they are not a caste apart: though there were restrictions as to the holding of secular magistracies in combination with the priesthood always observed strictly in the case of the rex sacrorum and with few exceptions in the case of the greater flamines yet the pontifices might always take their part in public life, and no kind of barrier existed between them and the rest of the community: Iulius Cæsar himself was pontifex maximus.

Ancus, having committed the care of sacred things to the flamines and other priests, set out with a new army, which he had levied, and took Politorium, a city of the Latins, by storm; and following the example of former kings, who had increased the Roman state by taking enemies into the number of the citizens, he transplanted all the people to Rome.

APEX: 'the crown', 'the highest glory'. The word meant originally 'knot', being connected with ap-tus ap-isci ap-ere and other words containing the idea of binding fast or grasping. It was properly applied to the olive-twig bound round with wool, which was stuck in the cap worn by the flamines and salii. Odes, 1, 34, 14. The word is scarcely found elsewhere in a metaphorical sense.

He also established the Flamines and the Salian priests and the Vestal Virgins, and regulated all departments of our ecclesiastical policy with the most pious care. In the ordinance of sacrifices, he wished that the ceremonial should be very arduous and the expenditure very light. He thus appointed many observances, whose knowledge is extremely important, and whose expense far from burdensome.

Indeed, several of these, which were destitute of political importance, were never interfered with, such as their exclusive eligibility to the offices of the three supreme -flamines- and that of -rex sacrorum- as well as to the membership of the colleges of Salii.