THE TEMPLE OF VESTA AND THE HOUSE OF THE VESTALS
Vesta was the goddess of the hearth and her worship was overseen by six priestesses from the patrician families of Rome. Chosen in childhood, between the ages of six and ten, they had to serve the goddess as virgins for at least thirty years.


The priestesses enjoyed many privileges, but those that broke their vows were condemned to the cruel punishment of being buried alive, because the blood of a Vestal could never be shed.
At the end of their priesthood they were allowed to marry, though very few of them ever did as it was supposed to be ominous.
The round temple dedicated to Vesta was rebuilt in its present form in 191 AD by Julia Domna, the wife of Septimius Severus. Next to it stood the dwelling of the priestesses, laid out around a courtyard with porticoes running round the four sides and fountains and pools in the middle. Here must have stood the numerous statues of the Vestal Virgins revealed in excavations. The priestesses lived in comfortable rooms heated with stoves on the upper floor and had numerous warm baths for their use.
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