VESTA

"Hestia, you who tend the sacred dwelling
of the far-shooting lord, Apollo, at holy Pytho,
from your tresses flowing oil ever drips down.
Come to this house! Come in gentle spirit
with resourceful Zeus and grant grace to my song!

Homeric Hymn to Hestia

Vesta is the virgin fire goddess of Rome, equivalent to the Greek Hestia. She refused a place in heaven, preferring to remain on earth, tending the fires in homes and temples. She was worshipped in private households and every day, during a meal, a small cake was thrown on the fire for her; it was good luck if it burnt with a crackle. She was also worshipped in an important state cult, maintained in a sacred building on the Forum Romanum with a circular chamber housing an eternal flame that was never allowed to die out. It is said that the cult was founded by king Numa Pompilius (715-673 BCE) and the sacred fire burned until 394 CE. Vesta is usually depicted as an austere woman, wearing a long dress and with her head covered. In her left hand, she holds a sceptre. She represents shelter and the safety and security of life.

Vesta's temple was served by six chaste priestesses called the Vestal Virgins. When a position became vacant, the Pontifex Maximus ("high priest") would select a girl from candidates offered by the best Patrician families. She had to be between the age of six and ten, fair of face, and without physical defect or blemish. The new priestess was then taken by the hand with the words "I take you, you shall be the priestess of Vesta and you shall fulfil the sacred rites for the safety of the Roman people". Her hair would be cut, and then she would be dressed in bridal white, with a white fillet binding her hair, and a white veil. During the period she was to serve as a Vestal, the priestess undertook to keep a vow of chastity. After thirty years, Vestals were able to leave and marry if they wished. Their elevated positions and personal wealth ensured that they were much sought after as wives.

While in service the Vestal Virgins enjoyed enormous privileges: their person was sacred, they were free from the control of the pater, and they were allowed to own and dispose of property as they saw fit. They even had the prerogative of freeing criminals sentenced to death. When they went out, fasces were carried before them to symbolise their authority.

However, the priestess who neglected her duty was severely punished. A Vestal who allowed the sacred fire to die out would be flogged. If a Vestal broke her vow of chastity, then she would be buried alive. Her partner in crime would be publicly scourged to death. The Emperor Domitian had three Vestal Virgins executed in 83 CE and in the 90 CE he had the Chief Vestal buried alive.

The Romans regarded hearth and home as sacrosanct, the foundation on which the stability of  Roman society rested. The Hearth of Vesta symbolised the spirit and permanence of Rome itself: to offend against it was to bring bad luck to Rome. If the fire went out, it had to be rekindled in the ancient way, by the use of friction.

The Vestals' chief function was to tend the ignis inextinctus ['undying fire'] and to take part in other rituals associated with the goddess Vesta. During the Vestalia festival at the beginning of the June, the inner sanctum or penus was opened for women to bring offerings. Here were kept certain mysterious symbols of the power of Rome, especially the palladium, which Aeneas rescued from the burning city of Troy. The Vestals made holy cakes (mola salsa) for the occasion from ritually prepared salt, water and grain. Bakers and millers also honoured this day, and the various tools of their trade were garlanded with violets and small loaves. On the last day of the festival, the temple was ritually cleansed.

The cult of Vesta probably originally in tribal society, when a fire was the central focus of the village. This may have been attended by women chosen as its priestesses, forerunners of the Vestal Virgins. The last known chief Vestal (vestalis maxima) was Coelia Concordia in 380 CE. Vesta symbolises the purity of fire, so it is appropriate that her priestesses should be virgins.

Vesta dwells in every part of the home, but especially the hearth, its sacred centre. She protects the home, safeguarding the well-being and security of the inhabitants, as well as its wealth and supplies.  

NB: This short article is not from my more comprehensive Goddess Encyclopaedia