Now with the people of Rome in some form of tranquility and peace, the threat of rebellion, wars, and revolt seemed less likely and would allow Numa to focus on the other improvements he wanted to make. One of those was ensuring that any laws and/or customs was establishing was not abandoned or in some way changed from his original vision. “To Numa is also ascribed the institution of that order of high priests who are called Pontifices, and he himself is said to have been the first of them. According to some they are called Pontifices because employed in the service of the gods, who are powerful and supreme over all the world; and "potens" is the Roman word for powerful. Others say that the name was meant to distinguish between possible and …show more content…
But that is not all that the Pontifices did and acted as for Numa. They also were not ran or controlled by Numa Pompilius as the chef of the Pontifices was the Pontifex Maximus. In addition to other responsibilities the Pontifex Maximus, “was also overseer of the holy virgins called Vestals; for to Numa is ascribed the consecration of the Vestal virgins, and in general the worship and care of the perpetual fire entrusted to their charge. It was either because he thought the nature of fire pure and uncorrupted, and therefore entrusted it to chaste and undefiled persons, or because he thought of it as unfruitful and barren, and therefore associated it with virginity. Since wherever in Greece a perpetual fire is kept, as at Delphi and Athens, it is committed to the charge, not of virgins, but of widows past the age of marriage”[8]. This could been have done for the sake of establish a religious believe about marriage, per-martial sex, celibacy or it could be a touch into the concepts of kinship. It may be unsure exactly why these were things that Numa help as such high value and importance but what was not unsure was that he was going to integrate the concepts into Roman …show more content…
Another group that he formed was known as the Salii and the Fetiales. “The Fetiales were guardians of peace, so to speak, and in my opinion took their name from their office, which was to put a stop to disputes by oral conference, or parley; and they would not suffer a hostile expedition to be made before every hope of getting justice had been cut off. For the Greeks call it peace when two parties settle their quarrels by mutual conference, and not by violence”[9]. The essentially were like peace corps that were used to try to prevent wars or resolve the issues of ongoing war of the surrounding areas. This could be used as an effective way of creating political relationships between Rome and other cities or nations. For example, “when the Barbarians were besieging Clusium, Fabius Ambustus was sent from Rome to their camp to bring about a cessation of hostilities on behalf of the besieged. But on receiving an unseemly answer, he thought his office of ambassador was at an end, and committed the youthful folly of taking up arms for the Clusians and challenging the bravest of the Barbarians to single combat. Fabius fought successfully, unhorsed his adversary, and stripped him of his armour. But when the Gauls discovered who he was, they sent a herald to Rome denouncing Fabius for violating a truce, breaking his oath, and fighting against them before war was formally