Vestal Virgin
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In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
2nd-century AD Roman statue of a Virgo Vestalis Maxima (National Roman Museum)
House of the Vestals and Temple of Vesta from the Palatine
Relief of the Vestal Virgins at a banquet, found in 1935 near Rome's Via del Corso (Museum of the Ara Pacis)
The most prominent feature of the ruins that were once the Temple of Vesta is the hearth (seen here in the foreground).
Sexuality in ancient Rome
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Sexual attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome are indicated by art, literature, and inscriptions, and to a lesser extent by archaeological remains such as erotic artifacts and architecture. It has so
Vestal Virgin
…stationed there at all times. Vestals who allowed the sacred fire to go out were punished with whipping. Vestals who lost their chastity were guilty of incestum and were sentenced to living burial, a bloodless death that was intended to seem voluntary. Their sexual partners, if known, were publicly beaten to…
Satyr and nymph, mythological symbols of sexuality for their respective sexes, on a mosaic from a bedroom in Pompeii.
Romantic scene from a mosaic (Villa at Centocelle, Rome, 20 BC–20 AD)
Erotic art in its architectural context at the House of the Centenary, Pompeii
Detail of the painting