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In ancient Rome, the Vestal virgins 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.
Priestess Code
There were six Vestal virgins. The high priest (Pontifex
Maximus) chose, by lot, young girls to serve in the order. The Vestal virgins were committed to the priesthood at a young age
(before puberty) and were sworn to celibacy. The punishment for violating the oath
of celibacy was to be buried alive, reportedly, in an underground chamber with a few days of food and water to prolong the
punishment. They served for thirty years, after which they could marry if they chose.
Their task was to maintain the fire sacred to Vesta, the
goddess of the hearth and home. Letting the fire die out was a serious offence, and punished by execution. The fire was rekindled
in this case by "the rays of the sun". The exact method is unclear. By maintaining Hestia'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. It burned until AD 394, when the Emperor Theodosius I forbade public pagan worship, had the fire extinguished, closed the
Temple of Vesta and disbanded the Vestal Virgins.
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