The book presented here is a  revised and updated version of the one which appeared for the first time in Polish in 2009.  The author made an ambitious attempt to describe the history of the viri sacris faciundis college and the use of the Sibylline books in state divinatory practices. He analyzed the role of the Sibyl in its cultural dimension, noting the relatively late appearance of this figure in Roman religion. Fighting against the historiographic myths that have arisen around the college’s activity, he convincingly demonstrates its important role in the social and political life of ancient Rome, especially in the process of unifying the Apennine peninsula and shaping the empire. (link per acquistare il volume)

Andrzej Gillmeister is a professor of ancient history at the University of Zielona Góra (Poland). He also has been working as a visiting professor at the Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli (Italy). His scientific interests focus around the history of Roman religion in its historical and historiographic dimensions, especially the history of the priestly colleges and divination in ancient Rome, and many other  aspects of the beliefs of the ancient Romans. This research has produced several articles and two books on historiography and the practice of ancient Roman religion.