Pompilius

Pompilius, in Roman tradition, most commonly refers to Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome and a legendary figure who is said to have succeeded Romulus. The name Pompilius functions as the nomen of the early ruling house, and Numa Pompilius is the best-known bearer of it. Traditional sources place his reign after Romulus, in the early to mid 7th century BCE, and portray him as a Sabine lawgiver who steadied Rome through religious and civil reforms rather than conquest.

He is credited with introducing a range of religious and social institutions that shaped the Roman state. According to ancient historians, Numa established the Roman priesthoods and rites, created the Vestal Virgins, and organized the flamines and other priestly colleges. He is commonly said to have reformed the calendar by adding January and February, creating a more regular civic year, and to have standardized annual religious ceremonies and offices. He is also associated with the founding or endowment of temples and sanctuaries and with the Temple of Janus, whose doors were said to be opened in times of war and closed during peace.

Modern scholarship treats many aspects of Numa’s life as legendary or symbolic, reflecting later Roman values about piety, law, and religious order rather than verifiable historical fact. If any kernel of truth survives, it is the broader outline of a ruler who foregrounded religion and institutions as foundations of the Roman state, rather than military expansion.

Beyond the king, the surname Pompilius appears in Roman naming traditions and in literary contexts, where it is sometimes used to evoke the archaic, religious founder of Rome.