CLAS 2095 EL 10
Dr. S.Katary
Introduction
Ancient Rome has several rituals that have served as phenomenal aspects of its era as it flourished. Those have given vibrant color to the characterization of Roman life at that time, as it stood as among the most interesting points of study in the history of humankind. Among those who have partaken in the rituals of the empire were the Vestal Virgins (Vestals), who were women priestesses heralded for their virtues as they present themselves to Roman society as among its institutional characters.
This study seeks to present information on the Vestals through a close examination of their identity and role in Rome. Undeniably, they are among the key focal figures in Roman history, with their compelling importance slated on their distinctive nature and their place among Romans. Aside from the evolution of the order, there are discussions on the key characteristics of each member in terms of their social status, freedom and wealth. Additionally, comparisons to other priestesses in history are present in this study to emphasize the distinguishing factors of the order.
The Goddess Vesta
It is essential to discuss the Roman goddess Vesta concisely first before proceeding further in discussing the Vestals. Vesta is the goddess worshipped by the Vestals, being the deity associated with the earth, purification of the deceased and the family. Her main attribute is her virginity, explained through her nature as a purifying force, with sexual contact being a pollutant. At the same time, she stands as the mother of all Romans through her ability to foster maternal care (Wildfang 6-7). Thus, the Vestals, being the ones constantly worshipping Vesta as their deity, stood as sacred figures of maternal care as they avoid sexual contact with men (Beard 13). The Vestals proved important in explaining the origins and identity formation of the Romans, as their existence preceded that of Rome and have arrived at the kingdom when king Numa transferred them from Alba Longa, their place of origin. King Tarquinius Priscus further institutionalized the importance of purity of the Vestals, the violation of which dubbed as incestum, by introducing a set of punishments (Wildfang 78).
The Lives of the Vestal Virgins
It is essential to elaborate on the defining characteristics of a typical member of the Vestals before discussing the features of the group, as a whole. Three specific categories expound on the character of an individual member – social status, freedom and wealth.
Social Status
Wildfang (77) boldly described the Vestals in quite a path-dependent manner as essential to Roman society, saying that it could have formed different without them. Takacs (60) explained that Rome heavily conferred its protection to divine female characters. Beard (12) exclaimed that whereas there are several debates questioning the real status of the Vestals, a unified consensus leads to the premise that respect towards them lie on their main attribute as virgins, with sexual activity seen as one that destroys their purity. Overall, there is a common view that the sexuality of the Vestals has a large bearing on their reputation in Roman society. The view of Romans on women being the protector of their kind, alongside their more favorable stance towards virginity, has placed the Vestals in an especially prominent level.
A remarkable account for the prestigious position of the Vestals in Roman society is due to the story of the reported first Vestal, Rhea Silvia. Rhea Silvia is the mother Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. Her uncle, who deposed her father Numitor from the Alban throne, designated her into a Vestal to prevent her from having any son that could challenge his hold in power as king. Yet, a miracle from Mars enabled her to bear and give birth to her two sons widely credited for creating the city of Rome. Her status as a purified woman and a mother to two offspring borne out of a miraculous cause has staged the primary characteristics of a Vestal (Wildfang 77).
Freedom
As the Vestals protect the fire blazing in the hearth of Vesta symbolizing procreation, their service to Vesta translates to their equivalent responsibility of protecting the earth. Thus, the Romans legally recognized Vestals as those who do not require tutelage coming from male guardians. The risk coming from tutelage is that of sexual contact with males, which serves as a grave violation within their order as they seek to preserve their main virtue of purity. Another account of the freedom of Vestals lies on the removal of their rights to own domestic properties, although such has inadequate explanations at present. Extended powers lead Vestals to have the ability to issue wills without tutelage. Their change in status leads them to possess no automatic heirs to their properties. Thus, they have the discretion to assign their own inheritors, subject to different specifications. In the juridical sphere, the Vestals enjoyed greater freedom in court representation. Their lack of tutelage thus leads them to make their own decisions in speaking openly before the courts of law (Takacs 80; Wildfang 65-69). Overall, the Vestals possess more legal freedom brought by their highly esteemed position in Roman society.
Wealth
The wide extent of legal freedom enjoyed by the Vestals has affected their financial capacity significantly. Although evidence on this particular matter has proved controversial due to the questionable strength of evidence gathered by previous studies, it nevertheless stands out as a particularly important one for the Vestals possess the general characteristic of being more revered and prestigious than ordinary Romans, male or female. Indeed, considerable evidence on this matter exists but may not yet prove as adequate to the issue at hand. By far, findings have shown that the Vestals have received financial empowerment. When the Roman king Numa brought the Vestals from Alba Longa, he established a financial budget to compensate for their tireless worship and protection of the temple. With changing rulers throughout time, the Vestals received different rates from the instituted budget, implying that they received generous financial endowments for serving their provided roles. Another angle in which the issue of wealth comes in the case of Vestals concerns the degree of support they receive upon growing up. For there is a general understanding that Vestals are not supposed to have any memory of any family that fostered them as they develop towards adulthood, there could have been additional financial resources that enabled them to grow up through the assistance of people carefully avoiding the involvement of the detached families. Additionally, funds may have come from rentals of vast land estates named to the Vestals, although the size of such is uncertain based on evidence (Wildfang 70-72).
Evolution of the Vestal Virgins
The Vestals did not flourish throughout its existence without undergoing changes in their roles and involvement in Roman society. In fact, they were never stagnant characters despite their status of divinity, as they appeared to have gained involvement in much of Roman politics as they gained exposure. The Vestals sustained their traditional religious roles beginning from their inception in Alba Longa and upheld their status as pure and purifying beings. Yet, onwards to the later years of the Republic and the first years of the Empire, they grew stronger in terms of political involvement. The main purpose for the improved presence of the Vestals in Roman politics has centered on their desire to perpetuate their order alongside the changing times. They have gone through several era shifts in Rome, which started out as a kingdom until it shifted to a Republic and an Empire. Thus, it has become important for the Vestals to strengthen their status further as an important religious institution of the Romans so that they could withstand any threats to their existence consonant to shifts in political orders. The involvement of the Vestals in Roman politics did not continue stagnantly, as they have exhibited different patterns consonant to their interests at the given time. The desire of the Vestals to strengthen their order via a larger member base reached the extent where attempts to omit virginity as a requirement has emerged – one that could have been perilous to the traditions in which they are founded. Yet, the onset of the First Triumvirate saw a decline in the political participation of the Vestals, although they did not entirely withdraw from the scene of Roman society. The rise of the Vestals in Roman politics is thus one that has satisfied previous frustrations of their order to gain greater political advantage, with the interest of loosening against incestum standing as among the strongest objectives (Wildfang 91).
The Vestal Claudia is perhaps the first recorded Vestal who directly engaged in Roman political affairs. She came in support of the consul Appius Claudius Pulcher, which present evidence has implied as her biological brother, as he sought for recognition from the Senate of his victorious campaign against the Salassi. The Senate vehemently denied him of any recognition, much less any permission for him to celebrate his victory because he has incurred massive losses in the process of his victory. Pulcher defied the Senate by organizing a procession, to which a tribune decided to push him out of the chariot during the procession. Claudia interfered to protect Pulcher by using her status as a Vestal to stop the tribune from carrying out its task. Several interpretations of the landmark incident have emerged. One view presupposed that Claudia did not just act as a biological sister of her brother, but also as her means of defying the tribune by presenting a potential limit to its power. An additional viewpoint to that respect provides that Claudia may have desired to expand the influence of her order by defying the power of the tribune in their attempt at expansion, although proof on this matter remains ambiguous (Wildfang 92).
Whether or not Claudia had an expressive desire to make her order more influential in political participation, the Vestals became more involved in public affairs after she committed her act. Several accounts that followed the incident concerning Pulcher have shown the Vestals becoming more visible and active in Roman politics, starting from individual to collective participation. An example of such an event concerned the Vestal Licinia. At a time when there were conflicts between the patricians and plebeians over the control of religious affairs in Rome, Licinia offered an altar at an Aventine temple without any permission or recommendation from the Senate. Her action was most probably because she supported the patricians in retaining control over religion in Rome, although such contravened the position of her biological father, the plebeian politician Gaius Licinius Crassus. Thus, it could be that she has shown a deeper dedication to her order – her new family, than to her biological family. Although there is no established proof directly commending Licinia for her act, which she may have made in the interest of upholding a stronger position for the Vestals, it nevertheless gave the order a more prominent position in Roman politics (Wildfang 92-93).
Another prominent event concerning Vestals and their involvement in politics included the Vestals Marcia, Aemilia and Licinia. The three have taken in lovers and even joined group sex activities – both being acts associated with incestum and punished by tribunals. The act of the three Vestals may have established their guilt, but their deliberate involvement may have served as a way of defying the norms set for their order, particularly committing incestum. They have viewed the requirement of being pure and chaste may have restricted them for such a long time that they tried to see if authorities would go after them in the event of violations (Wildfang 93-94).
Comparison with the Greek Oracle at Delphi
While the Vestals possess enormous credit for being a foundational element of Rome, it does not mean that the order is unique and devoid of any equivalents in other societies. Several historians have drawn comparisons involving the Vestals with other priestesses. Among the most popular ones is the Oracle at Delphi in Ancient Greece, otherwise known as the Pythians.
The Pythians were priestesses who worshipped the Greek sun god Apollo. A Pythian is a woman who is over 50 years of age – one that establishes her status of seniority. Like the Vestals, she does not have permission to engage in sexual relations and such accounts for her purity. Yet, the existence of Pythians is secluded compared to the Vestals, who enjoyed increased participation in Roman politics at some point of their existence. The depiction of Pythians being carriers of “more-than-human knowledge” imply that they may be more intellectually-gifted than their Roman counterparts, who harbor the main characteristic of being pure but without any evidence pointing that they have sharp intellectual acumen. Nevertheless, the prestige enjoyed by the Pythians is akin to that received by the Vestals as a matter of their privileged position (Green 27-34).
Conclusion
The Vestals possess a heralded position in Ancient Rome unbridled by any inherent limitations. Their importance in Roman society is borne by the fact that the first known Vestal, Rhea Silvia, gave birth to the creators of Rome, Romulus and Remus. While it is undeniable that such an incident may have strengthened the status of the Vestals as an order, it does not mean that their inherent characteristics do not merit characteristics for their prestige. Their status as priestesses of the goddess Vesta make them highly valuable beings selected from their families to form a concentrated legion of worshippers. Since Vesta symbolizes purity, the Vestals have the strict requirement of non-involvement in incestum or any sexual relationships, as such has stood as corrupting factors to their purity. At the same time, the Vestals must possess the virtue of maternity, for Vesta stand as the mother of Rome despite being a virgin. The establishment of the Vestals prior to the formation of Rome stands as a compelling factor for their prestige in Rome. They enjoyed special privileges in the form of abundance in financial wealth, freedom from legal restrictions and a respected position in Roman society. The strength and influence of the Vestals led them to gain increased political exposure over time in their existence. They have imposed their importance in Rome more through engaging in public affairs – an arena that they did not entrench on apart from their religious responsibilities. Political interests including the building of a stronger image for the Vestals and the eventual loosening of their requirement of chastity stood out as among the main purposes of their entry in Roman politics. The Vestals eventually tamed down their political involvement, but continued as seminal religious figures. Several studies have drawn comparisons to them with other priestesses in other societies, with among the most prominent being the Oracle of Delphi or Pythians in Ancient Greece. The Pythians are essentially similar to that of the Vestals, although they have a more remarkable status as intellectual and wise beings. The relative reclusive nature of the Pythians also make them different figures compared to the activist tendencies manifested by some Vestals, particularly during the time when they exhibited a greater degree of involvement in Roman politics. Overall, the Vestals stand as among the strongest proof against the premise that all women during the antiquities were in a much less-privileged state. Contrary to popular belief that men dominated during the early parts of history, the Vestals proved that women – at least a select few of them, were reserved with astounding portions of dignity subject to reasonable premises.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beard, Mary. "The Sexual Status of Vestal Virgins." The Journal of Roman Studies 70 (1980): 12-27. Print.
Green, Peter. “Possession and Pneuma: The Essential Nature of the Delphic Oracle." Arion 17.2 (2009): 27-47. Print.
Takacs, Sarolta. Vestal Virgins, Sibyls, and Matrons: Women in Roman Religion. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2008. Print.
Wildfang, Robin. Rome's Vestal Virgins: A Study of Rome's Vestal Priestesses in the Late Republic and Early Empire. Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2006. Print.
