 Numa wrote down and sealed these religious instructions, and gave them to the first Pontifex Maximus, Numa Marcius.In the Roman Republic, the Pontifex Maximus was the highest office in the state religion of ancient Rome and directed the College of Pontiffs.According to Livy, after the overthrow of the monarchy, the Romans created the priesthood of the "rex sacrorum", or "king of sacred rites," to carry out certain religious duties and rituals previously performed by the king.