The bizarre and fascinating history of the Vestal Virgins and their sacred duties

Roman tradition said that Numa Pompilius created the Vestals to respect Vesta and to make up for the wrongs of Rome’s early kings.

Rome’s chief priest picked girls, aged six to ten, from the freeborn families whose parents were both alive.

Good health and a clear mind proved essential, and any perceived physical or mental disfunction could eliminate a candidate from this role.

If they were successful, they would undertake a ceremony called the captio, where the Pontifex Maximus led each girl from her family home to Vesta’s temple.

This ritual officially removed her from her father’s legal control. 

Vestal service lasted thirty years, split into three parts of ten years. In the first part, the Vestals learned the rituals, in the second they performed them, and in the third they trained new members.

After she completed her service, a Vestal received a regular payment and the right to marry, but in practice most chose to live quiet lives rather than accept marriages arranged by the Pontifex. 

The Vestals’ main job lay in caring for Vesta’s eternal flame, which burned in a bronze container at the temple’s centre and could never be allowed to go out.

Every morning, one Vestal checked the fuel, added wood or oil, and burned incense.

Another Vestal fetched holy water from the spring of the Aquae Vestae for rituals.

Another important task involved producing the mola salsa, a salted mix of coarse flour and salt that Romans sprinkled on all state ceremonies to give the Vestals’ blessing.

They also baked special breads, mixed holy wine with salt, and looked after the temple’s inner room.

At the Vestalia festival in July, Vestals led public ceremonies and received offerings from Roman matrons who sought purification. 

Vestal Virgins had legal and social freedoms that no other women in Roman society had, and answered only to the state and the Pontifex Maximus.

For example, they could own property, manage their own money, and speak in court without a guardian’s permission.

When they chose to do so, a Vestal’s personal plee could free someone sentenced to death.

These women were considered to be so holy that the act of harming a Vestal in any way was seen as a crime against the gods themselves. 

In public celebrations, Vestals usually sat in the best seats and rode in two-horse carriages, escorted by official attendants.

Even senators and magistrates respected their status in the hopes that Vestals would joined the political leaders at official ceremonies to lend their moral support to their actions. 

The vow of chastity was at the centre of the Vestals’ authority. Any break of this vow led to a harsh and symbolic punishment.

Any Vestal found guilty of incestum faced being buried alive in a small underground chamber with only a little food and water. The man involved was also executed.

However, if a Vestal failed to perform sacred duties, such as allowing the sacred flame to die, the Pontifex punished her with public whipping. 

These punishments were menat to discourage wrongdoing and may have actually worked to some degree. Only a few cases were recorded in Roman history.

One of the few that we know if occurred in AD 81, when Cornelia, the head Vestal, was accused of incestum.

Emperor Domitian ordered her burial, and her accused assistants were executed.

After these events, Romans performed extra rites to win back the gods’ favour.

Throughout Roman history, there were several notable Vestal Virgins who became famous for their deeds.

One such Vestal was Rhea Silvia. Legend has it that Rhea Silvia was a Vestal Virgin and the mother of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

She was the daughter of Numitor, the king of Alba Longa, who was overthrown by his younger brother Amulius.

To prevent Numitor's heirs from seeking revenge, Amulius forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin, which meant she had to take a vow of chastity.

However, Rhea Silvia was impregnated by Mars, the god of war, and gave birth to twin boys, Romulus and Remus.

Amulius ordered the babies to be drowned in the Tiber River, but they were saved by a she-wolf and raised by a shepherd.

Romulus and Remus later grew up to found Rome, with Romulus becoming its first king.

Tuccia was another Vestal Virgin who lived in ancient Rome. According to legend, Tuccia was accused of breaking her vow of chastity and was put to the test by the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of Rome.

He ordered Tuccia to carry water from the Tiber River to the Temple of Vesta in a sieve, which was thought to be impossible for anyone who was not a virgin.

Tuccia prayed to Vesta for help and successfully completed the task without spilling a drop of water.

Her innocence was thus proven, and she was acquitted of the charges against her. 

The most famous Vestal was perhaps Claudia Quinta, who lived in ancient Rome during the Second Punic War.

She was accused of unchastity and brought before the Pontifex Maximus for trial.

However, Claudia maintained her innocence and proclaimed that she was a faithful servant of the goddess Vesta and prayed to her for help.

The next day, a ship carrying a statue of the goddess Cybele became stuck in the Tiber River.

Despite the efforts of the crew and the citizens of Rome, the ship refused to budge.

Claudia was then summoned to the river and, with the help of Vesta, was able to move the ship single-handedly.

This miracle was seen as a sign of her innocence, and Claudia was exonerated of all charges. 

Over time, Christian emperors slowly stopped supporting Rome’s pagan cults. In 382 AD, Emperor Gratian withdrew the Vestals’ funding.

Following that, in 394 AD, Theodosius I ended pagan worship, closed Vesta’s temple, and ordered the flame extinguished.

No new Vestals served after that decree, and the House of the Vestals was left in ruins with its gardens overgrown and its hearth cold. 

The Vestal Virgins had served Rome for over a thousand years.