Ancient History, Modern Living & More - Debra May Macleod - Author

When people search “What is the Temple of Vesta," they usually get a pretty straightforward answer along the lines of, “It was a circular building in the Roman Forum where the Vestal Virgins kept the goddess’s sacred fire burning.”

You’ve just come home from a long day at the office.

It comes as news to a lot of people that those beautiful white statues you see of Roman gods, heroes, senators and Caesars weren’t always pure white.

Picture this: a prehistoric night, pitch black except for one fire.

The ancient Roman world was polytheistic—Romans believed in and honored multiple gods.

Destruction.

This article is for readers of my novel Rhea Silvia which is the first book in The First Vestals of Rome Trilogy.

This article is for readers of my novel Tarpeia, which is the second book in The First Vestals of Rome Trilogy, a series about the founding Vestal priestesses of ancient Rome.

This article is for readers of my novel Amata, which is the third and final book in The First Vestals of Rome Trilogy, a series set during the founding and earliest years of Rome.

Despite the richness of the Vesta tradition, many people who think Vestal Virgin still think of one thing: the fact that ancient Vestals who broke their 30-year vow of chaste service to the goddess were buried alive.

Right now, at this moment… …. there’s something you’re not happy about.

It’s been bothering me for over thirty years now… something a professor said in an Introduction to Ancient Religions class when I was a young thing at university.

As ancient Rome’s powerful and revered all-female priesthood, the Vestal Virgins certainly had little in common with the religious order of women that would rise as they were suppressed... namely nuns.

The Vestal Virgins were priestesses of the ancient Roman goddess named Vesta.

This article is for readers of my novel Empire of Iron, which is the third and last book in The Vesta Shadows Trilogy, a book series that follows the life of the Vestal Virgin Pomponia Occia through the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, and…

This article is for readers of my novel To Be Wolves, which is book two in The Vesta Shadows Trilogy, a series that follows the life of the Vestal Pomponia Occia through the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire under Augustus.

This article is for readers of my novel Brides of Rome, which is book one in The Vesta Shadows Trilogy.

You’ve heard the expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Temple of Vesta (actually called the Aedes Vestae) in the Roman Forum was the first temple to be built in the Forum proper.

If you’ve ever had the good fortune to visit the ruins of the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum, you’ll know that you can get fairly close to this beauty; however, there is a barrier that prevents you from getting too close.