Vesta and Her Virgins, Ovid, Fasti VI.283-294

 

Cur sit virginibus, quaeris, dea culta ministris?
     inveniam causas hac quoque parte suas.
Ex Ope Iunonem memorant Cereremque creatas               
     semine Saturni; tertia Vesta fuit.
Utraque nupserunt, ambae peperisse feruntur;
     de tribus impatiens restitit una viri.
Quid mirum, virgo si virgine laeta ministra
     admittit castas ad sua sacra manus?               
Nec tu aliud Vestam quam vivam intellege flammam;
     nataque de flamma corpora nulla vides.
Iure igitur virgo est, quae semina nulla remittit
     nec capit, et comites virginitatis amat.

--Ovid, Fasti VI.283-294

You may ask, “why is the goddess Vesta worshipped by virgin priestesses?”

I’ve found her reasons why.

They say that Juno and Ceres were born

from Ops and Saturn; Vesta was their third daughter.

The first two got married and had kids;

Of the three, only Vesta remained indifferent to men.

So it’s not surprising that a virgin will enjoy

Having virgin priestesses and

Chaste hands taking care of her sacred rites.

And don’t just imagine Vesta as a living flame;

You’ll find nothing born of flames.

Instead, Vesta is a virgin woman, who rightly

Neither conceives or receives, and

Loves companions in her virginity.

OVID	MAP:
Name: Publius Ovidius Naso   Date:  43 BCE – 18 CE Works:  Ars Amatoria                Metamorphoses*               Tristia, etc.	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Ovid was one of the most famous love poets of Rome’s Golden Age. His most famous work, the Metamorphoses, provides a history of the world through a series of interwoven myths. Most of his poetry is erotic in nature; for this reason, he fell into trouble during the conservative social reforms under the reign of the emperor Augustus. In 8 CE he was banished to Bithynia, where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.	GOLDEN AGE ROME