pontificēs
Oxford Companion to Classical Literature:
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pontificēs
pontificēs, pontiffs, at Rome, the most important college of priests (see COLLEGIUM), who had supreme control in matters of state religion. They seem originally to have numbered three, but were successively increased in number until finally (under Julius Caesar) they reached sixteen. Originally they were all patricians, but after 300 BC half the number was chosen from the plebeians.
