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In ancient Roman religion (preChristian,) six priestesses, representing the daughters of the royal house, who tended the state cult of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth.

The cult is believed to date to the 7th century BC; like other non-Christian cults, it was banned in AD 394 by Theodosius I.

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"They lived in the House of the Vestal Virgins on the Roman Forum, near the Temple of Vesta. Their duties included tending the perpetual fire in the Temple of Vesta, keeping their vow of chastity, fetching water from a sacred spring (Vesta would have no water from the city water-supply system), preparing ritual food, caring for objects in the temple's inner sanctuary, and officiating at the Vestalia (June 7--15), the period of public worship of Vesta. ..."

"Vestal Virgins." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009.

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12y ago

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