Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Ovid derived Vesta from Latin vi stando – "standing by power". Cicero supposed that the Latin name Vesta derives from its Greek counterpart, Hestia, which Cornutus claimed to have derived from Greek hestanai dia pantos ("standing for ever").
2nd-century AD Roman statue of a Virgo Vestalis Maxima (National Roman Museum) 1st-century BC (43–39 BC) aureus depicting a seated Vestal Virgin marked vestalis. In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (Latin: Vestālēs, singular Vestālis [wɛsˈtaːlɪs]) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The sacred fire of Vesta was a sacred eternal flame in ancient Rome.The Vestal Virgins, originally numbering two, later four, and eventually six, were selected by lot and served for thirty years, tending the holy fire and performing other rituals connected to domestic life—among them were the ritual sweeping of the temple on June 15 and the preparation of food for certain festivals.
In Greek and Roman mythology, several goddesses are distinguished by their perpetual virginity. These goddesses included the Greek deities Hestia, Athena, and Artemis, along with their Roman equivalents, Vesta, Minerva, and Diana. In some instances, the inviolability of these goddesses was simply a detail of their mythology, while in other ...
Articles relating to the goddess Vesta and her cult. She was the virgin goddess of the hearth , home , and family in Roman religion . She was identified with her Greek equivalent, Hestia .
In Greek mythology, newborn Hestia, along with four of her five siblings, was devoured by her father Cronus, who feared being overthrown by one of his offspring. Zeus, the youngest child, escaped with his mother's help, and made his father disgorge all his siblings. Cronus was supplanted by this new generation of deities; and Hestia thus became ...
Her symbols are the hearth and kettle. She plays little role in Greek myths, and although she is omitted in some lists of the twelve Olympians in favour of Dionysus, no ancient tale tells of her abdicating or giving her seat to Dionysus. [10] Her Roman counterpart Vesta, however, was a major deity of the Roman state.
Vestal may refer to: . Pertaining to Vesta (mythology), a Roman goddess . The sacred fire of Vesta; The Temple of Vesta; Vestal Virgin, a priestess of Vesta; Vestalia, an ancient Roman religious festival in honor of Vesta