Talk:College of Pontiffs

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, article "Pontifex" would make a good reference. This entry would make a good lead for anyone who thinks 'Minerva = Athena ' and other such equivalences... User:Wetman


 * Updated URI. Bill 19:28, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Tim -- Very nice article with good details, organization, and sources. Maybe the only things to add would be a picture, if possible, and maybe a sentence or two detailing the Pontifex Maximus (because he is the most important figure in the College). -Anoop

Tim, that was laudable effort. It would be good if you can upload a picture or two depicting Roman priesthood. The position of the pontifix maximus was an important one. Can you elaborate a little bit on the role of the pontifix maximus and how he was selected? Also, There seems so be something wrong with the structure of the following sentence: This changed in 104 B.C. with the “lex domitia” which stipulated that an assembly the 17 tribes would choose new members. Over all, this is a very informative article. The sources you cite add credibility to the information presented. -- Mustafa

Tim - a well organized, very informative article. If you are going to include the Vestal Virgins in the "Membership" section, I think it would be helpful to first define what their main role was in the college. I understood it just fine but for those who may not have that much prior knowledge of Roman history it would be useful. Also, I think the very first sentence of the "Role in the Roman State" should read "The College of Pontiffs was not a religious body..." Finally, because guardianship of the libri pontificii was a crucial job of the college of pontiffs, it would be nice to expand that section a bit (i.e the importance of the annales maximi) - Greg

Move
I've long been mildly troubled by calling this article "College of Pontiffs" for the very reason that someone moved it: it sounds so Catholic. But "College of Pontifices" won't do. It's a bastardized hybrid of Latin and English. Please discuss alternatives before moving. Cynwolfe (talk) 12:51, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Would the Latin do? I've never heard anyone say collegium pontificum, but it is the only form of title that I can remember encountering in the scholarship. But, without looking at the results in depth, a JSTOR search for "College of Pontiffs" yields 48 results; "college of Pontifices" gives 39, and "collegium pontificum" gives 24. But these numbers could easily be skewed by JSTOR's dodgy search functionality. — [dave] cardiff &#124; chestnut —  15:30, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, based solely on usual WP naming practice, the title should be College of Pontiffs, then, since it's most common and in English. And I stand corrected, I guess, about "College of Pontifices," which does indeed seem to be in wide use. That should be "college of pontifices," with the Latin italicized, I'd think, and lowercase so it doesn't masquerade as a proper noun. I might prefer Pontifex (ancient Rome) for the article title. It took me at least two years to remember that it was called "College of Pontiffs." No doubt why I'm grumpy about the move, since it requires me to relearn something, wah wah. How dare Pmanderson get himself forbidden to partake of our communal fire and water when he's needed on such stern points of order. Cynwolfe (talk) 20:44, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I think you're right: just like the other major collegia in the infobox on this page (save the epulones and functionally named quindecimviri sacris faciundis), this one should probably just have the singular of its constituents as headword. I didn't even realize that Pontifex redirects here, so the "(ancient Rome)" bit might be left off. I'm sure if PMA were around I'd be roundly scolded for my Hellenist's casual two-cents on this Roman jive, but now I'm off to set some foxes alight, since that's what rational people do with their free time.  — [dave] cardiff &#124; chestnut —  01:09, 16 May 2012 (UTC)