Vestales

Vestales, or Vestal Virgins, were a group of priestesses in ancient Rome dedicated to the goddess Vesta. They played a central role in Roman religion and civic ritual, tending the sacred fire in the Temple of Vesta and safeguarding sacred objects. Their duties extended to preparing meals for the gods, officiating at certain rites, and ensuring the ritual purity that symbolized the city’s welfare.

Selection and tenure: Typically six Vestals were chosen from freeborn girls between ages six and ten. The vow of chastity and a thirty-year term defined their service, divided into three decades: the first as novices, the second as priestesses, and the third as matrons. They lived in the House of the Vestals and were supported by the state.

Duties and status: The Vestals maintained ritual purity and kept the temple’s sacred fire burning, one of Rome’s most important religious symbols. They enjoyed several legal privileges uncommon for women, including ownership of property and the right to testify in court; they also held a high social status and were accorded special honors in public ceremonies.

Punishments and end of service: Violations of their vow carried severe penalties, historically by burial alive within the precincts of the temple. A Vestal’s term ended after thirty years of service, at which point she could choose to marry, though most did not immediately assume married life.

Decline and legacy: The Vestal order persisted into late antiquity but declined as pagan rites were suppressed under Christian emperors in the fourth century; the institution gradually disappeared. The Vestales remain a symbol of Rome’s religious authority and its connection between religion and state.