ANCIENT HISTORY
The spark of Vesta’s sacred fire…
…was lit well over a million years ago, when our ancestor hominids first marveled at the mystery of fire and learned to rely upon it for life itself. They built stones around it. Then they built their homes around it. And eventually, they would build their temples and civilizations around it. Fire creates a focus like nothing else.
Indeed, fire worship is the earliest form of “religion” known to humankind. It symbolizes the soul and eternity, and it gave birth to the beloved goddess the earliest Romans called Vesta. Represented by an Eternal Flame, Vesta burned in the household hearth. Her divine flame was the spiritual focus of the home and made it a sacred space within which to live. When the fire cracked in the hearth, it was believed to be the voice of Vesta herself, speaking or singing.
Vesta was a virgin goddess….
… who rejected the advances of other gods and chose to remain a singular figure, as pure and purposeful as fire itself.
She never required a living sacrifice. Instead, an offering of salted flour or a libation of olive oil, wine or milk was sprinkled into her flame.
Because it was so important that Vesta’s sacred fire burned in her temple at all times, day and night, a priesthood of women was established to care for it. These were the Vestal Virgins, and their order was the only state-funded, full-time priesthood in Rome.
Yet the greatest duty of a priestess, of course, was to keep Vesta’s sacred fire burning in the temple’s hearth. It was also to spread Vesta’s fire by giving embers from the temple’s fire to other women who would take them home and burn them in their own household hearth. In this way, the Vestals continued to honor the private aspect of their public religion.
After their years of service to Rome, Vestals were allowed to retire. Some did, and as wealthy women went on to marry. Yet most chose to stay with the order. The Vestal status may have been too appealing to part with, especially in a world where one in three women died in childbirth and women were expected to defer to their husbands. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And so it was with the Vestal order. With the rise of the first Christian emperors, worship of the ancient Roman gods was criminalized and the world moved into the Dark Ages. Of course, this is only a superficial look at the long, complicated history of the Vestal order. It was—and still is—a beautiful religion, and fragments of its ancient past exist in the present.
You can also visit the ruins of the House of the Vestals, just a few steps away from the temple. Here, you can see statues of Vestal priestesses who once lived within these walls. And if you’re moved by such things, perhaps you can even light a candle in memory of their service to Rome’s fiery goddess, Vesta.
The Vestals held a revered and essential place in Roman history, religion and society. If you want to learn more, you can start with this video…and then browse Debra’s other videos for more.