# pontifex maximus

> the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome, open only to patricians until 254 BCE, when a plebeian first occupied this post; gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office

**Wikidata**: [Q212943](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q212943)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_maximus)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/pontifex-maximus


## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013