, noting that Gaius Cestius (1st century BC) was a member of the College of Epulones () and one of the
septemviri Epulonum (). The college was founded in 196 BC due to a law passed by
Gaius Licinius Lucullus. The need for such a college arose as the increasingly elaborate festivals required experts to oversee their organization. They were tasked with attending and managing banquets known as
epulum which were dedicated to the gods. One major epulum was the
epulum jovis which was dedicated to
Jupiter. Previously these banquets were managed by the
pontiffs. There were four great
religious corporations (
quattuor amplissima collegia) of ancient Roman priests; the two most important were the
College of Pontiffs and the college of
augurs; the fourth was the
quindecimviri sacris faciundis. The third college was the
epulones; their duties to arrange the feasts and public banquets for
festivals and games
(ludi) had originally been carried out by the pontiffs. The College of Epulones was established long after civil reforms had opened the
magistracies and most priesthoods to
plebeians, who were thus eligible from its beginning. Initially there were three
epulones, but later their number was increased to seven by
Sulla; hence they were also known as the
septemviri epulonum, "seven men of the sacrificial banquets". The
patera was the sacred bowl used by the
epulones. It was shallow with a raised center so that when held in the palm, the thumb could be placed on the raised centre without profaning the
libation, as it is poured into the
focus, or sacred fire. The
patera was the special emblem of the
epulones. The
paten used today by Roman Catholic priests, omits the raised center. ==References==