The Vestal Virgins and the Eternal Flame: Rome’s Most Sacred Office
Six women kept Rome alive. Not metaphorically — in Roman theology, the sacred flame in the Temple of Vesta was a literal condition of the city’s survival. If it went out, Rome was in danger. If a Vestal’s chastity was violated, Rome was in danger. The connection between six women’s bodies and the fate of an empire was official state theology.