Rex Sacrorum
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The Rex Sacrorum (Latin: sacred king) was a religious office under the Roman Republic.
When the Roman Republic overthrew the Roman Kingdom in 510 BC, the notion persisted that a king of Rome had to be installed in order to perform certain rituals that the king of Rome traditionally presided over. The Romans therefore appointed a Rex Sacrorum, literally king of the sacred rites, in order to discharge the religious duties of the king. The rex sacrorum was, of course, a patrician, appointed to the priesthood for life by the pontifex maximus. In theory and in social precedence, the rex sacrorum was the highest ranking priest in the Roman religion, in practice his influence was far less than that of the pontifex maximus. He was exempt from all civilian or military duties; he wielded no civil or military influence. Because of this, the office was never coveted by the plebeians, and remained a patrician monopoly until it was abolished during the reign of Theodosius I in 390 AD. His wife, also, was a priest, and she became known as the regina sacrorum, "queen of the sacred rites."
The rex sacrorum and regina sacrorum presided over a sacrifice that was offered several times a month, on the Ides, Nones, and Kalends of the Roman calendar; he to Jupiter, she to Juno. He also played an important role in the yearly religious ritual of the Regifugium, which commemorated the expulsion of the last king from Rome. The rex sacrorum was also charged with the duty of placating the gods on behalf of the Roman state when evil omens were discerned.
Another Roman priest given the title of "king" was the rex Nemorensis, an escaped slave who was priest of Diana at Nemi, and who attained his position of uneasy honour by killing the previous incumbent of his priesthood, after showing his worthiness by plucking a bough from a sacred tree.
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