Pontifex maximus
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The Pontifex Maximus (Latin, literally: "greatest pontiff" or "greatest bridge-builder") was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs (Collegium Pontificum) in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian who, however, then decided to omit the words "pontifex maximus" from his title.
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In popular culture
- In C. S. Lewis's Christian novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan refers to himself as "the great Bridge-Builder", a close translation of Pontifex Maximus.
- In the dispensationalist fiction series Left Behind, the character Cardinal Peter Mathews is named Pontifex Maximus of the "Enigma Babylon One World Faith", established by Nicolae Carpathia, Global Community Supreme Potentate and Antichrist.
- In the X Universe's game series, the leader of the Paranid alien race is also referred to as "Pontifex Maximus". In the game series, the Paranid are notorious for their extremist religious beliefs.
- In Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series main character Jason Grace is promoted to Pontifex Maximus at the end of the fifth book, The Blood of Olympus
- Damian North's Debut Novel, his first in a Papal Trilogy, was titled Pontifex Maximus, Publish in 2016 it sees the rise of the AntiChrist in the heart of Rome.
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See also
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