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vestal virgin |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
Vestal VirginIn Roman religion, any of six priestesses, representing the daughters of the royal house, who tended the state cult of Vesta. Chosen between the ages of 6 and 10, they served for 30 years, during which time they had to remain virgins; violation of the vow of chastity was punishable by burial alive. Their duties included tending the perpetual fire in the Temple of Vesta, fetching water from a sacred spring, preparing ritual food, caring for objects in the temple's inner sanctuary, and officiating at the public worship of Vesta. They enjoyed many honours and privileges, including emancipation from their fathers' rule. vestal virgin (in ancient Rome) one of the four, later six, virgin priestesses whose lives were dedicated to Vesta and to maintaining the sacred fire in her temple How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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And though political conspiracies threaten to bury him, Octavius has his allies, particularly vestal virgin Camane (Emily Blunt), whose cooing narration and grrl-power advocacy both contemporizes the story and lays waste to its credibility. Although from the famous and beautiful dust jacket portrait by Houston Rogers our Dame Margot looks the picture of gentle innocence, she was, as Daneman demonstrates in contrast to the lady's own autobiography, no vestal virgin. Although the cult of Vesta had remarkable durability in ancient Rome, "the reasons for the emergence of the Vestal Virgins are unclear," Scott maintains. |
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