Vestal Virgins

The Vestal Virgins were a group of six Priestesses who managed the Sacred Fire in the Temple of Vesta and were a powerful force in the Roman State.
They were created by the second King of Rome, Numa Pompilius (715-674 BCE) and disbanded in 394 CE under Theodosius I.

Vesta was the Goddess of Hearth, Home and Family. (similar to the Greek Goddess Hestia)
The Vestal Virgins were the only College of Full-Time Priestesses in Rome. They were dedicated to the Goddess Vesta.
The Temple of Vesta contained an eternal Sacred Fire symbolising Vesta, which was never allowed to go out.
The ‘Virgo Vestalis’ was the Head Vestal Virgin, who answered to the Head Priest, the Pontifex Maximus.

They were founded by King Numa Pompilius (715-674 BCE)
He created two permanent Priestess with a salary from the Treasury.
The College subsequently grew in numbers.
The Circular Temple of Vesta was built in the 4th century BCE, in the Forum Romanum.

There were 18 in Priestesses total. 6 Novices, 6 Vestal Virgins and 6 Supervisors.
They were selected from Patrician Families, between the ages of 3 to 10 years old.
Officially, there were always six Vestal Virgins who appeared in Public.
They served for a 30 year tenure, after which they were discharged and could marry: 10 years as a Novice, 10 Years as a Vestal Virgin and 10 years as a Supervisor training the Novices.
Vow of Chastity for 30 years.
Punishments: If a Vestal Virgin lost her virginity, she became impure and this threatened the safety of Rome. The penalty for breaking the Vow of Chastity was Death by being buried alive in the Campus Sceleratus with a great Ritual. This was because it was illegal to spill the blood of a Vestal Virgin. The Death Penalty was applied ten times during their existence.
The Vestal Virgins were Exempt from the Patria Potestas and managed their own affairs.

The Vestal Virgins maintained the Sacred Fire in the Temple of Vesta.
They baked the Sacred Salt Cakes used at Ceremonies.
They were an extremely powerful force, and if requested, could intercede in matters of State.
Augustus included them in all State Ceremonies.
They were ‘Sacrosanctitas’ (inviolable) and Sacred and considered Goddesses.
Their Blood could not be spilt without causing Dire Retribution from the Gods. Which is why their Punishment was to be buried alive, avoiding bloodshed.
The Vestal Virgins held the Wills of important Romans. e.g. the Will of Julius Caesar.

They lived with their servants in the Atrium Vestae, ‘House of the Vestal Virgins’, a 50 room building on three floors, near the Temple of Vesta in the Forum Romanum.
They traveled in a special carriage, the ‘Pilentum’, an enclosed two wheeled Roman Vehicle with Cushions.

They wore a white Stola along with a Suffibulum, a short veil attached by a Fibula and a headband, the infula.

They had seats specially reserved at the Games, and a permanent Box in the Colosseum.

The Vestal Virgin was exempt from the Paterfamilias, (the male head of the family), who held the power of life and death over members of his family. This power was known in Roman Law as Patria Potestas, (the Power of the Father).
The Vestal Virgin was exempt because she was no longer the property of either her Father or the next son to become the Head of the Family.
The Vestal Virgin was freed by passing through the ‘Rite of Captio’, described by Aulus Gellius (128-180 CE). This Rite gave her a unique freedom in Roman Law compared to other women and men, in that she did not require a legal Guardian, but could act independently.
The Vestal Virgins were thus free to devote themselves to the conducting Religious Rites, and also to conduct their own investments.
They were free to collect a large income from the rental of buildings and land, and to buy, sell and inherit property. They could write their own Will.
They were the only women allowed to openly testify in a court of law and to sit beside the Senators in the Arena and Amphitheatre, accompanied by Lictors.

In 394 CE, the Theodosian Decrees of Theodosius I, disbanded the Vestal Virgins as being too Pagan.

Temple of Vesta