Image of a Roman Vestal Virgin

In Ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins (sacerdos Vestalis), were the virgin holy priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Their primary task was to maintain the sacred fire of Vesta. The Vestal duty brought great honor and afforded greater privileges to women who served in that role. They were the only female priests within the Roman religious system. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 365 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (578 × 950 pixel, file size: 86 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) de: Beschreibung: Darstellung einer römischen Vestalin Datum: Bild publiziert 1905 Quelle: (von der Website: LacusCurtius — Atrium Vestae (Christian Hülsen, 1905. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 365 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (578 × 950 pixel, file size: 86 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) de: Beschreibung: Darstellung einer römischen Vestalin Datum: Bild publiziert 1905 Quelle: (von der Website: LacusCurtius — Atrium Vestae (Christian Hülsen, 1905. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Holiness means the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of a god or gods. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman mythology, analogous to Hestia in Greek mythology. ... Statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture For the 1934 film, see, see The Goddess (1934 film). ... In common historic and modern usage, a hearth (Har-th) is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven used for cooking and/or heating. ... The Sacred fire of Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth and goddess of fire, was an eternal flame which burned within the Temple of Vesta on the Roman Forum. ...

In mythology, the infamous Tarpeia, daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, was a traitorous Vestal Virgin. Rhea Sylvia, who was raped by Mars and conceived Romulus and Remus, and Tuccia, whose chastity was questioned, were sometimes accounted prototypes of Vestal Virgins. A head of Minerva found in the ruins of the Roman baths in Bath Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... The Tarpeian Rock (rupes Tarpeia) was a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome. ... Spurius Tarpeius is a mythological character. ... Rhea Silvia (also written as Rea Silvia), and also known as Ilia, was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and a magical flower (or Jupiter). ... This page describes the ancient heroes who founded the city of Rome. ... The Vestal Virgin Tuccia with a sieve by Andrea Mantegna, ca. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

The discovery of a "House of the Vestals" in Pompeii made the Vestal Virgins a popular subject in the 18th century and the 19th century. For other uses, see Pompeii (disambiguation). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The objects of the cult were essentially the hearth fire and pure water drawn into a clay vase.

History

Plutarch attributes the founding of the Temple of Vesta to Numa Pompilius, who appointed at first two priestesses to which were added another two with Servius raising the total to six.^[1] Ambrose alludes to a seventh towards the end of the pagan era.^[2]. The second century Roman antiquarian Aulus Gellius writes that the first vestal virgin taken from her parents was led away in hand by Numa Pompilius. Numa also appointed the Pontifex Maximus to preside over rites, prescribe rules for public ceremony, and watch over the Vestals. The first Vestals, according to Varro, were Gegania, Veneneia, Canuleia, and Tarpeia. [Grimm, 275]. Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... rome hotel According to legend, Numa Pompilius was the second of the Kings of Rome, succeeding Romulus. ... Maurus (or Marius) Servius Honoratius, Roman grammarian and commentator on Virgil, flourished at the end of the 4th century AD. He is one of the interlocutors in the Saturnalia of Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, and allusions in that work and a letter from Quintus Aurelius Symmachus to Servius show that he... For other uses, see Ambrose (disambiguation). ... Aulus Gellius ( 125 - after 180), Latin author and grammarian, possibly of African origin, probably born and certainly brought up at Rome. ... Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ... Marcus Terentius Varro ([[116 BC]–27 BC), also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman scholar and writer, who the Romans came to call the most learned of all the Romans. ...

The Vestal Virgins became a powerful and influential force in the Roman state. When the dictator Sulla included the young Julius Caesar on his death list of political opponents the Vestals interceded on his behalf and gained him pardon. ^[3] Augustus included the Vestals in all major dedications and ceremonies. Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (Latin: L·CORNELIVS·L·F·P·N·SVLLA·FELIX) ¹ (ca. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ...

The Chief Vestal (Virgo Vestalis Maxima) oversaw the efforts of the Vestals, and was present in the Collegium Pontificum. Chief Vestal Occia presided over the Vestals for 57 years, according to Tacitus. The last known Chief Vestal was Coelia Concordia in 380. The College of Vestal Virgins ended in 394, when the fire was extinguished and the Vestal Virgins disbanded by order of Theodosius I. The College of Pontiffs or Collegium Pontificum (collegium in Latin means a board or committee rather than an educational institution) was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the polytheistic state religion. ... For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year 380 AD. For the aircraft, see Airbus A380. ... Events September 6 - Battle of the Frigidus: The christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the pagan usurper Eugenius and his Frankish magister militum Arbogast. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ...

The Order of the Vestal Virgins and its well-being was considered to have a direct bearing on the health and prosperity of the city. The prefect Symmachus wrote: "The laws of our ancestors provided for the Vestal virgins and the ministers of the gods a moderate maintenance and just privileges. This gift was preserved inviolate till the time of the degenerate moneychangers, who diverted the maintenance of sacred chastity into a fund for the payment of base porters. A public famine ensued on this act, and a bad harvest disappointed the hopes of all the provinces... it was sacrilege which rendered the year barren, for it was necessary that all should lose that which they had denied to religion."^[4] Symmachus can refer to several different people of Roman antiquity. ...

Zosimus records^[5] how the Christian noblewoman Serena, niece of Theodosius I, entered the temple and took from the statue of the Goddess a necklace and placed it on her own neck. An old woman appeared, the last of the Vestal Virgins, who proceeded to rebuke Serena and called down upon her all just punishment for her act of impiety.^[6] According to Zosimus, Serena was then subject to dreadful dreams predicting her own untimely death. Augustine would be inspired to write The City of God in response to murmurings that the capture of Rome and the disintegration of its empire was due to the advent of the Christian era and its intolerance of the old gods who had defended the city for over a thousand years. For the pope of this name see Pope Zosimus Zosimus, Greek historical writer, nourished at Constantinople during the second half of the 5th century A.D. According to Photius, he was a count, and held the office of advocate of the imperial treasury. ... Serena portrayed with his husband Stilicho e his son Eucherius, ca. ... “Augustinus” redirects here. ... The City of God, opening text, created c. ...

Terms of service

The Vestal Virgins were committed to the priesthood at a young age (before puberty) and were sworn to celibacy for period of 30 years (not 30 years of age). These 30 years were, in turn, divided into three periods of a decade each: ten as students, ten in service, and ten as teachers. Afterwards, they could marry if they chose to do so.^[7] However, few took the opportunity to leave their respected role in very luxurious surroundings. This would have required them to submit to the authority of a man, with all the restrictions placed on women by Roman law. On the other hand, a marriage to a former Vestal Virgin was highly honoured. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ...

Selection

The high priest (Pontifex Maximus) chose by lot from a group of young girl candidates between their sixth and tenth year. To obtain entry into the order they were required to be free of physical and mental defects, have two living parents and to be a daughter of a free born resident in Italy. They left the house of their father, were inducted by the Pontifex Maximus, and their hair was shorn. The high priest pointed to his choice with the words, “I take you, Amata, to be a Vestal priestess, who will carry out sacred rites which it is the law for a Vestal priestess to perform on behalf of the Roman people, on the same terms as her who was a Vestal on the best terms”.^[8] Now they were under the protection of the Goddess. Later, as it became more difficult to recruit Vestals, plebeian girls were admitted, then daughters of freed men^[9] (Young, Worsfold, 21-3). Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ... In Ancient Rome, the plebs was the general body of Roman citizens, distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. ...

Tasks

Their tasks included the maintenance of the fire sacred to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and home, collecting water from a sacred spring, preparation of food used in rituals and caring for sacred objects in the temple's sanctuary.^[10] By maintaining Vesta's sacred fire, from which anyone could receive it for household use, they functioned as "surrogate housekeepers", in a religious sense, for all of Rome. Their sacred fire was treated, in Imperial times, as the Emperor's household fire. Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman mythology. ...

O Vesta, if I have always brought pure hands to your secret services, make it so now that with this sieve I shall be able to draw water from the Tiber and bring it to Your temple (Vestal Virgin Tuccia in Valerius Maximus 8.1.5 absol).

The Vestals were put in charge of keeping safe the wills and testaments of various people such as Caesar and Mark Antony. In addition, the Vestals also guarded some sacred objects, including the Palladium, and made a special kind of flour called mola salsa which was sprinkled on all public offerings to a god. Valerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... Bust of Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N[1]) ( January 14 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Palladion. ... Mola salsa was a cereal cake used by ancient Romes Vestal Virgins in sacrifices and was a common offering to the household hearth. ...

Privileges

The dignities accorded to the Vestals were significant.

• in an era when religion was rich in pageantry, the awesome presence of the College of Vestal Virgins was required in numerous public ceremonies and wherever they went, they were transported in a carpentum, a covered two-wheeled carriage, preceded by a lictor, and had the right-of-way;
• at public games and performances they had a reserved place of honor;
• unlike most Roman women, they were not subject to the patria potestas and so were free to own property, make a will, and vote;
• they gave evidence without the customary oath;
• they were, on account of their incorruptible character, entrusted with important wills and state documents, like public treaties;
• their person was sacrosanct: death was the penalty for injuring their person and their escorts protected anyone from assault;
• they could free condemned prisoners and slaves by touching them - if a person who was sentenced to death met a vestal virgin on his way to the execution, he was automatically pardoned.
• they were allowed to throw ritual straw figurines called Argei, into the Tiber on May 15.^[11][12]
• in national crises the advisory power of the Senior Vestal, (Virgo Vestalis Maxima), was undisputed[13]. ^{[unreliable source?]}
• frequent dinner parties where the menu featured such delicacies as pâté, boiled ostrich, dormice stuffed with nuts, and fricassee of roses in pastry shells [14]. ^{[unreliable source?]}

The lictor, derived from the Latin ligare (to bind), was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium. ... Argei were doll-like figures meant to resemble bound human men, and used ceremonially during the ancient Roman Empire. ... Tiber River in Rome The Tiber (Italian Tevere, Latin Tiberis), the third-longest river in Italy at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches in two branches that cross the suburbs... Binomial name Carolus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of Ostriches. ... Subfamilies and Genera Graphiurinae Graphiurus Leithiinae Dryomys Eliomys Hypnomys Myomimus Selevinia Myoxinae Glirulus Muscardinus Glis Dormice are Old World mammals in the family Gliridae, part of the rodent (Rodentia) order. ...

Punishments

Allowing the sacred fire of Vesta to die out, suggesting that the Goddess had withdrawn her protection from the city, was a serious offense and was punishable by scourging.^[13] The chastity of the Vestal Virgins was considered to have a direct bearing on the health of the Roman state. When they became Vestal Virgins they left behind the authority of their fathers and became daughters of the state. Any sexual relationship with a citizen was therefore considered to be incest and an act of treason.^[14] The punishment for violating the oath of celibacy was to be buried alive in the Campus Sceleratus or "Evil Fields" (an underground chamber near the Colline gate) with a few days of food and water. Whipping on a post Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, whip) the human body. ... “Buried Alive” redirects here. ...

Ancient tradition required that a disobedient Vestal Virgin be buried within the city, that being the only way to kill her without spilling her blood, which was forbidden. Unfortunately, this practice contradicted the Roman law, that no person may be buried within the city. To solve this problem, the Romans buried the offending priestess with a nominal quantity of food and other provisions, not to prolong her punishment, but so that the Vestal would not technically die in the city, but instead descend into a “habitable room” (Staples 152). Moreover, she would die willingly. Cases of unchastity and its punishment were rare.^[15] The Vestal Tuccia was accused of fornication, but she carried water in a sieve to prove her chastity. Fornication, or simple fornication, is a term which refers to sexual intercourse between consenting unmarried partners. ...

The method by which it was established that a Vestal had committed an offense would be considered unscientific by modern standards. Because a Vestal’s virginity was thought to be directly correlated to the sacred burning of the fire, if the fire were extinguished it might be assumed that either the Vestal had acted wrongly or that the Vestal had simply neglected her duties. The final decision was the responsibility of the Pontifex Maximus, or the head of the pontifical college, as opposed to a judicial body (Staples 152) ^{[dubious – discuss]}. Whilst the order of the Vestal Virgins was in existence for over one thousand years there are only ten recorded convictions for unchastity and these trials all took place at times of political crisis for the Roman state. It has been suggested^[16] that Vestal Virgins were used as scapegoats^[17] in times of great crisis. (Staples 138).

The earliest Vestals at Alba Longa were said to have been whipped to death for having sex. The Roman king Tarquinius Priscus instituted the punishment of live burial, which he inflicted on the priestess Pinaria. But whipping with rods sometimes preceded the immuration, as was done to Urbinia in 471 BC. [Worsfold, 62]. Alba Longa (in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga) was an ancient city of Latium, in the Alban Hills founder and head of the Latin Confederation; it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. // Legendary history According to legend Alba Longa was founded by Ascanius or... Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (also called Tarquin the Elder or Tarquin I) was the legendary fifth King of Rome, said to have reigned from 616 BC to 579 BC. According to Livy, Tarquinius Priscus came from the Etruscan city of Tarquinii and was originally named Lucumo (it is now thought that... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 476 BC 475 BC 474 BC 473 BC 472 BC - 471 BC - 470 BC 469 BC 468...

Suspicions first arose against Minucia through an improper love of dress and the evidence of a slave. She was found guilty of unchastity and buried alive.^[18] Similarly Postumia, who though innocent according to Livy^[19] was tried for unchastity with suspicions being aroused through her immodest attire and less than maidenly manner. Postumia was sternly warned “to leave her sports, taunts and merry conceits,”. Aemilia, Licinia, and Martia were executed after being denounced by the servant of a barbarian horseman. A few Vestals were acquitted. Some cleared themselves through ordeals [15]. Postumia may refer to: The Italian name of Postojna, Slovenia Via Postumia, Roman road One of the Vestal Virgins Category: ...

The paramour of a guilty Vestal was whipped to death in the Forum Boarium or on the Comitium.^[20] An intimate relationship is a interpersonal relationship where there is a great deal of physical or emotional intimacy. ... The Forum Boarium was the cattle market of ancient Rome. ... The comitium was in the time of the Roman Republic the customary place for the legislative assembly (comitia). ...

Vestal festivals

The chief festivals of Vesta were the Vestalia celebrated June 7 until June 15. On June 7 only, her sanctuary (which normally no one except her priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, entered) was accessible to mothers of families who brought plates of food. The simple ceremonies were officiated by the Vestals and they gathered grain and fashioned salty cakes for the festival. This was the only time when they themselves made the mola salsa, for this was the holiest time for Vesta, and it had to be made perfectly and correctly, as it was used in all public sacrifices. June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Mola salsa was a cereal cake used by ancient Romes Vestal Virgins in sacrifices and was a common offering to the household hearth. ...

Clothing

A vestal in a 19th-century engraving by Frederick Leighton.

The main articles of their clothing consisted of an infula, a suffibulum, and a palla. The infula was a long headdress that draped over the shoulders. Usually found underneath were red and white woolen ribbons. The suffibulum was the broach that clipped the palla together. The palla was a simple mantle, wrapped around the Vestal Virgin. The broach and mantle were draped over the left shoulder. A vestal virgin, detail of an engraving by Sir Frederick Leighton, created Lord Leighton, the first British aritist to be given a title. ... A vestal virgin, detail of an engraving by Sir Frederick Leighton, created Lord Leighton, the first British aritist to be given a title. ... Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (December 31, 1830 - January 25, 1896) was an English painter and sculptor. ... The palla is a traditional ancient Roman mantle worn by women. ...

House of the Vestals

A reconstruction by Christian Huelsen from 1905.

House of the Vestals and Temple of Vesta from the Palatine.

Main article: House of the Vestals

The House of the Vestals was the residence of the Vestal priestesses in Rome. Behind the Temple of Vesta (which housed the sacred fire), the Atrium Vestiae was a three-story building at the foot of the Palatine hill. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Christian Karl Friedrich Hülsen (born Berlin, 1858; died Florence, 1935) was an architectural historian of the classical era who later changed to medieval and renaissance. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... The Atrium of the House of the Vestals This refers to the house in the Roman Forum. ... 17th century aviaries on the hill, built by Rainaldi for Odoardo Cardinal Farnese: once wirework cages surmounted them. ...

List of well-known Vestal Virgins

• Aquilia Severa, whom Emperor Elagabalus married amid considerable scandal.
• Coelia Concordia, the last head of the order.
• Rhea Silvia, a possibly mythical mother of Rome's founders.
• Tarpeia, who betrayed Rome to the Sabines, and for whom the Tarpeian Rock is named.

Aquilia Severa was the second and fourth wife of Emperor Elagabalus. ... A bust depicting Elagabalus. ... Coelia Concordia was the last vestal virgin in history and the last Vestalis Maxima or Chief Vestal. ... Rhea Silvia (also written as Rea Silvia), and also known as Ilia, was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome. ... A steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum, the Tarpeian Rock (rupes Tarpeia) was used during the Roman Republic as an execution site. ... The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini - singular Sabinus) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... The Tarpeian Rock (rupes Tarpeia) was a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome. ...

Further reading

• Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)
• Parker, Holt N. "Why Were the Vestals Virgins? Or the Chastity of Women and the Safety of the Roman State", American Journal of Philology, Vol. 125, No. 4. (2004), pp. 563–601.
• Samuel Ball Platner and Thomas Ashby, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome
• Wildfang, Robin Lorsch. Rome's Vestal Virgins. Oxford: Routledge, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-415-39795-2; paperback, ISBN 0-415-39796-0).

References

The Biblical Archaeology Society is a non-denominational organization that supports and promotes biblical archaeology, and publishes the academic journals Bible Review and Biblical Archaeology Review. ... Aulus Gellius ( 125 - after 180), Latin author and grammarian, possibly of African origin, probably born and certainly brought up at Rome. ... The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, 1854. ... Argei were doll-like figures meant to resemble bound human men, and used ceremonially during the ancient Roman Empire. ...

External links

• article Vestales in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
• The Code of Patria Potestas
• House of the Vestal Virgins