Holders of The Office
The flamen Lucius Cornelius Merula was chosen consul suffectus on the expulsion of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, and, upon the restoration of the Marian faction, shed his own blood in the sanctuary (87 BC), calling down curses on his enemies with his dying breath. After his death the priesthood remained vacant until the consecration of Servius Maluginensis under Augustus, then Pontifex Maximus.
The exact date when Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis became Flamen Dialis is disputed. Dio 54.36 says it was about 11 BC, a date accepted by many modern scholars. But Tacitus Ann. 3.58 indicates that the date was 72 years after the suicide of Cornelius Cinna (87 BC). Some modern translators (including Penguin's Rex Warner, but not Wood) change Tacitus to match Dio instead of vice versa, even though Tacitus is the more reliable historian. Gaius Stern asserts that Tacitus is probably correct, meaning that Maluginensis became Flamen Dialis while Lepidus was Pontifex Maximus (16/15 BC), so that Lepidus had to supervise his inauguration at Augustus' direction, possibly unwillingly.
Julius Caesar was nominated to be Flamen Dialis in 84 BC. Many scholars think he was not installed, although it seems unlikely that the Romans would allow a nominee to wait years without inauguration. When Sulla returned to Italy in 82, he proscribed Caesar and stripped him of his priesthood (which implies that he had indeed been inaugurated). No successor was selected. During the vacancy that followed (c. 82 to c. 16 or later), the duties of the office were discharged by others.
This article is based on a portion of the article "Flamen" in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, in the public domain.
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