The Lifestyle of Vestal Virgins, Plutarch, Numa 10.1-3

Plutarch on the Origin of the Vestal Virgins

Name:    Plutarch Date:      46 – 119 CE Region:    Chaeronea [modern Greece]   Citation:     Life of Numa 10.1-3

Numa determined the term of the Vestal Virgins would be thirty years long. In the first decade, Vestal Virgins learn about their duties; in the second decade, they practice them; and in their third, they teach them. After that time, they are allowed to get married, and start whatever lifestyle they choose. They say that not many women choose to do so, and those that do, do not end up happy, but are full of regret and sorrow. Therefore, the bulk of Vestals retain their chaste lifestyle for the rest of their life.

Numa bestowed great honors to the Vestal Virgins. They are allowed to create their own wills independent of their fathers. They are allowed to manage their own household without a male guardian (just like those who have mothered three children). When Vestals go out in public, they have lictors [an honor guard] with them. If someone on death row is brought to their presence, they are not killed, provided that they can make an oath that the meeting was an accident and not actively planned. Moreover, if someone bumps into their vehicle, they are put to death.

ὡρίσθη δὲ ταῖς ἱεραῖς παρθένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἁγνεία τριακονταέτις, ἐν ᾗ τὴν μὲν πρώτην δεκαετίαν ἃ χρὴ δρᾶν μανθάνουσι, τὴν δὲ μέσην ἃ μεμαθήκασι δρῶσι, τὴν δὲ τρίτην ἑτέρας αὐταὶ διδάσκουσιν. εἶτα ἀνεῖται τῇ βουλομένῃ μετὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἤδη καὶ γάμου μεταλαμβάνειν καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον τραπέσθαι βίον, ἀπαλλαγείσῃ τῆς ἱερουργίας, λέγονται δὲ οὐ πολλαὶ ταύτην ἀσπάσασθαι τὴν ἄδειαν, οὐδὲ ἀσπασαμέναις χρηστὰ πράγματα συντυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ μετανοίᾳ καὶ κατηφείᾳ συνοῦσαι τὸν λοιπὸν βίον ἐμβαλεῖν τὰς ἄλλας εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν, ὥστε μέχρι γήρως καὶ θανάτου διατελεῖν ἐγκαρτερούσας καὶ παρθενευομένας.

Praescripsit autem rex Vestalibus triginta annorum castimoniam. Primo decennio discunt ea quae sint sui officii, altero ea exercent, tertio alias ipsae eadem docent. Secundum hoc tempus permissum est illis, quae velint, deposito sacerdotio nubere, aut aliud vitae genus diligere; non multas tamen narrant hac licentia usas et iis, quae eam amplexae fuissent, adversas res evenisse, poenitentiaque et maestitia reliquum vitae tempus vexatas, reliquas in eam superstitionem adduxisse, ut ad senectutem potitus exitumque vitae virginitatem conservarent.

τιμὰς δὲ μεγάλας ἀπέδωκεν αὐταῖς, ὧν ἔστι καὶ τὸ διαθέσθαι ζῶντος ἐξεῖναι πατρὸς καὶ τἆλλα πράττειν ἄνευ προστάτου διαγούσας, ὥσπερ αἱ τρίπαιδες. ῥαβδουχοῦνται δὲ προϊοῦσαι: κἂν ἀγομένῳ τινὶ πρὸς θάνατον αὐτομάτως συντύχωσιν, οὐκ ἀναιρεῖται, δεῖ δὲ ἀπομόσαι τὴν παρθένον ἀκούσιον καὶ τυχαίαν καὶ οὐκ ἐξεπίτηδες γεγονέναι τὴν ἀπάντησιν.

Magnos honores his sacerdotibus tribuit Numa, e quorum numero est, quod licebat vivo adhuc patre testamentum condere, quod sine tutore omnia agere poterant, haud secus quam ius trium liberorum adeptae. Cum in publicum progrediuntur, lictores secum habent, ac si tum forte ad capitale supplicium aliquis ducatur, is non necatur; iusiurandum tamen ab ipsis exigitur, forte fortuna se, non data opera, intervenisse. Porro autem qui subit lecticae,qua ipsae vehuntur, moritur.  Translated into Latin by Theodore Doener

Plutarch [46 – 119 CE, modern Greece] was a Greek author from Chaeronea, and Roman citizen who lived during the 1st century CE. He had minor governmental and religious administrative roles during his lifetime, but he is best known for his writings. He has numerous philosophical and historical works still extant, including the Parallel Lives, in which he compares the lives of a Roman and Greek statesman for moralistic purposes.

A Rejection of Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins, Prudentius Contra Symmachum 2.1064-1079

Rejecting Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins

Name: Prudentius Date:  4th century CE Region:  Tarraconensis [modern Spain] Citation:  Against Symmachus 2.1064-1079

Now I’ll discuss the honor given to the chastity of the Vestal Virgins,

And how this “honor” reflects all of their [Roman polytheists’] “respect” for chastity.

First of all, little girls are taken in their tender years

Before they are old enough to understand and consent.

All hyped up with religious zeal and purity culture,

They reject the natural bonds of matrimony.

They become slaves to their chastity and are dragged to ungrateful altars.

These poor girls lose their sense of bodily pleasure

Not because it’s the right thing to do,

But because their free will was taken from them.

Their bodies might remain chaste,

But their minds are not kept pure.

They stay up at night restlessly and sigh in their unwed beds

The blind wounds and the wedding denied to them.

And since their secret hope doesn’t extinguish their fire completely

(For they can get married in their old age)

They run to the altar as gray-haired women.

Vesta demands purity for her maidens

For an allotted time,

but they immediately reject her as old maids.

Rejecting Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins

Quae nunc Vestalis sit virginitatis honestas

discutiam, qua lege regat decus omne pudoris.

ac primum parvae teneris capiuntur in annis,

ante voluntatis propriae quam libera secta,

laude pudicitiae fervens et amore deorum,

iusta maritandi condemnet vincula sexus,

captivus pudor ingratis addicitur aris,

nec contempta perit miseris sed adempta voluptas

corporis intacti: non mens intacta tenetur,

nec requies datur ulla toris, quibus innuba caecum

vulnus et amissas suspirat femina taedas;

tum quia non totum spes salva interficit ignem,

nam resides quandoque faces adolere licebit

festaque decrepitis obtendere flammea canis;

tempore praescripto membra intemerata requirens

tandem virgineam fastidit Vesta senectam. 

Prudentius [Aurelius Prudentius Clemens; 348 – 413 CE, modern Spain] was a Christian author from Roman Hispania who had great influence in the court of Emperor Theodosius I. Most of his works deal with using his Christian beliefs to counter Roman polytheism and mythology.

Primary Sources on Vestal Virgins: Aulus Gellius, Noct. Att. I.12

Aulus Gellius on the Selection and Lifestyle of Vestal Virgins

Name: Aulus Gellius  Date: 125 – 180 CE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Athenian Nights 1.12

Regarding Vestal Virgins: On the Appropriate Age, Family Background, Initiation Ceremony, How They are Claimed by the Pontifex Maximus, How they Take their Oath and Become “Taken” ; Also How, as Labeo says, They Can neither Inherit nor Bequeath Property in their Wills

Those who describe the “taking” of a Vestal Virgin [and Labeo Antistius describes this the most elaborately] state that it is inappropriate to take one:

·        younger than six years old, or one that is older than ten

·        if she has lost her mother or father

·        if she has a speech impediment or is hard of hearing, or has any other disability

·        if either she or her father is emancipated, even if her father is alive, but her grandfather is her patriarch

·        or if either (or both) parents are currently a slave, or are involved in shady business practices.

Furthermore, it is also noted that she is exempt if

·        her sister has been chosen for a priesthood

·        her father is a flamen augur, a Salian priest, one of the fifteen overseers of the Sibylline books, or one of the seven overseers of the holy banquets.

Other exemptions include

·        if she is engaged to a priest

·        if she is a daughter of the sacred Trumpeters.

Moreover, in his writings, Capito Ateius stated that a daughter should not be selected from a family that does not have residency in Italy, as well as a family that doesn’t have three children.

Once a Vestal Virgin is chosen, she is led to the Temple of Vesta and handed over to its priests. As soon as that happens, she is immediately freed from her patriarch’s control without an official emancipation declaration and without losing control of her rights; she is also able to make her own will.

There are no ancient sources on the selection of a Vestal Virgin, but [it is known] that the first ones were selected by King Numa. I have, however, found the Papian Law that twenty maidens are selected from the general population under the oversight of the Chief Priest, and from that number, a lottery is held. The women selected by the Chief Priest become Vestal Virgins. Nowadays, this lottery set up by the Papian Law is no longer necessary. If someone of noble birth approaches the Chief Priest and offers his daughter to the priesthood, provided that religious observances are maintained, he can be exempt from the Papian Law.

A Vestal Virgin is said to be “taken,” because she is taken by the hand of the Chief Priest from the control of her parents, the way that a hostage is taken in wartime. In Book 1 of his work on history, Fabius Pictor preserves the oath that a Chief Priest is supposed to say when he “takes” a Vestal Virgin.  This is the oath: “Beloved one, I hereby seize you as one worthy to be a Vestal Virgin, who shall perform rites on behalf of the Roman people.” 

Many people think that the word “taken” should only apply to Vestal Virgins; however, Flamen Dialis, priests, and augurs are also said to be “taken.” In the second book of his history, L. Sulla wrote: “P. Cornelius, the first to be named Sulla, was taken as a Flamen Dialis.” When M. Cato accused Servius Galba, he said the following about the Lusitanians: “They say that they wanted to rebel. I really want to know the priestly ways, so does that mean I can be made a priest? If I really wanted to know augury, does that mean I can be an augur?”  Moreover, in Labeo’s commentaries On the Twelve Tables, the following quote exists: “A Vestal Virgin nether an heir to anyone intestate, nor does her property go to another; instead, her property is liquidated by the state.”

She is called “Beloved,” [Amata] when she is taken by the Chief Priest because that was the name of the first Vestal Virgin taken.

 

Aulus Gellius on the Selection and Lifestyle of Vestal Virgins

Virgo Vestae quid aetatis et ex quali familia et quo ritu quibusque caerimoniis ac religionibus ac quo nomine a pontifice maximo capiatur et quo statim iure esse incipiat, simul atque capta est; quodque, ut Labeo dicit, nec intestato cuiquam nec eius intestatae quisquam iure heres est.

Qui de virgine capienda scripserunt, quorum diligentissime scripsit Labeo Antistius, minorem quam annos sex, maiorem quam annos decem natam negaverunt capi fas esse; item quae non sit patrima et matrima, item quae lingua debili sensuve aurium deminuta aliave qua corporis labe insignita sit; item quae ipsa aut cuius pater emancipatus sit, etiamsi vivo patre in avi potestate sit; item cuius parentes alter ambove servitutem servierunt aut in negotiis sordidis versantur. Sed et eam, cuius soror ad id sacerdotium lecta est, excusationem mereri aiunt; item cuius pater flamen aut augur aut quindecimvirum sacris faciundis aut septemvirum epulonum aut Salius est. Sponsae quoque pontificis et tubicinis sacrorum filiae vacatio a sacerdotio isto tribui solet. 

Praeterea Capito Ateius scriptum reliquit neque eius legendam filiam, qui domicilium in Italia non haberet, et excusandam eius, qui liberos tres haberet. Virgo autem Vestalis, simul est capta atque in atrium Vestae deducta et pontificibus tradita est, eo statim tempore sine emancipatione ac sine capitis minutione e patris potestate exit et ius testamenti faciundi adipiscitur. De more autem rituque capiundae virginis litterae quidem antiquiores non exstant, nisi, quae capta prima et, a Numa rege esse captam. Sed Papiam legem invenimus, qua cavetur, ut pontificis maximi arbitratu virgines e populo viginti legantur sortitioque in contione ex eo numero fiat et, cuius virginis ducta erit, ut eam pontifex maximus capiat eaque Vestae fiat. Sed ea sortitio ex lege Papia non necessaria nunc videri solet.

Nam si quis honesto loco natus adeat pontificem maximum atque offerat ad sacerdotium filiam suam, cuius dumtaxat salvis religionum observationibus ratio haberi possit, gratia Papiae legis per senatum fit. 

“Capi” autem virgo propterea dici videtur, quia pontificis maximi manu prensa ab eo parente, in cuius potestate est, veluti bello capta abducitur. In libro primo Fabii Pictoris, quae verba pontificem maximum dicere oporteat, cum virginem capiat, scriptum est. Ea verba haec sunt: “Sacerdotem Vestalem, quae sacra faciat, quae ius sit sacerdotem Vestalem facere pro populo Romano Quiritibus, uti quae optima lege fuit, ita te, Amata, capio.” Plerique autem “capi” virginem solam debere dici putant. Sed flamines quoque Diales, item pontifices et augures “capi” dicebantur. L. Sulla rerum gestarum libro secundo ita scripsit: “P. Cornelius, cui primum cognomen Sullae impositum est, flamen Dialis captus.” M. Cato de Lusitanis, cum Servium Galbam accusavit: “Tamen dicunt deficere voluisse. Ego me nunc volo ius pontificium optime scire; iamne ea causa pontifex capiar? Si volo augurium optime tenere, ecquis me ob eam rem augurem capiat?” 

Praeterea in commentariis Labeonis, quae ad duodecim tabulas composuit, ita scriptum est: “Virgo Vestalis neque heres est cuiquam intestato, neque intestatae quisquam, sed bona eius in publicum redigi aiunt. Id quo iure fiat, quaeritur.” “Amata” inter capiendum a pontifice maximo appellatur, quoniam, quae prima capta est, hoc fuisse nomen traditum est.   

Vesta and Her Virgins, Ovid, Fasti 6.283-294

Vesta and Her Virgins:

Name:   Ovid Date:     43 BCE – 17 CE Region:    Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Fasti  6.283 – 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.     

Vesta and Her Virgins

Cur sit virginibus, quaeris, dea culta ministris?
inveniam causas hac quoque parte suas.
Ex Ope Junonem 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 [Publius Ovidius Naso; 43 BCE – 17 CE, modern Italy] 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 [modern Turkey], where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.