the chief and priest of a curia. Romulus, upon dividing the people into curiae, gave each division a chief, who was to act priest of that curia, under the title of curio et flamen curialis. His business was to provide and officiate at the sacrifices of the curia, which were called curiones; and the curia furnished him with a sum of money on this account, which pension or appointment was called curionium. Each division had the election of its curio; but all the particular curiones were under the direction of a superior or general, called curio maximus, who was the head of the body, and elected by all the curiones assembled in the comitia curialis.

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, all the institutions were introduced by Romulus, and confirmed by Numa.