Vesta and the Vestals
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- In this video, I start to get into some of the conceptual themes around Vesta and the Vestals, the priestesses in charge of her official state worship. This will be part one of two videos on the Vestals, so if you’d like to see part 2 you can go ahead and subscribe. Thanks for watching!
The Hearth in Greco-Roman Religion: • The Hearth in Greco-Ro...
Primary Sources:
Hesiod, Theogony
Ovid, Fasti 6.249-468
Secondary Sources:
Ovidius, Naso Publius, Publius Ovidius Naso, Grant Showerman, G. P. Goold, and Frank Justus Miller. Fasti. Vol. 253. Loeb Classical Library, 1989.
Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. 2012.
Images:
Capitoline Triad: Sailko (via Wikimedia Commons)
Minerva: AlMare (via Wikimedia Commons)
Artemis: Carole Raddato (via Wikimedia Commons)
Virgo Vestalis Maxima: Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Temple of Vesta: Wknight94 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Vesta’s Temple Complex/Home of the Vestals: Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Music: "Descent from the Olympos Pentatonic." (original)
Website: www.hearthofhaemonia.com
IG/Pinterest/Vero: @hearthofhaemonia
Contact: info@hearthofhaemonia.com
Hey everyone! I'm teaching a course this fall on Vesta. Registration is open over at my website: www.hearthofhaemonia.com/course
YAY! So happy I found this video, and will definitely be watching part 2. I learnt about Vesta initially in my introduction to ancient Roman religion course at university. We very briefly touched over Vesta, and the Vestals which was such a shame because I was so interested in it. Thank you 💟
I am so thrilled I found your videos. Your content is by far the most comprehensive on the Greek and Roman myths I have found and your communication of this knowledge is completely engaging!
Thank you!
Thank you maam great explanation.
One one side it seems cruelty on Vestals, but on another side, it seems they were honored figures of Rome.
I'm not sure that you realize this, but you just drew a very distinct connection between Nuns and the mother Superior and Vestal Virgins in this video. That is that Catholicism took Roman governing principles and integrated them into the new "Christian religion" no surprise because they adopted the Greek into their culture before Christianity became a thing.
This was utterly fascinating. Very grateful to find your channel. I just sent you a message on IG inviting you to an interview. I'm fascinated by the early origins of the Vestal Virgin, the concept of the eternal flame/sacred Hearth through history and much more. The theory about the Early Rome origins of the Vesta Virgin you presented here is really impelling and I have more questions!
Im working on a screenplay about the vestal virgins and am currently researching - this helps so much❤ subscribed instantly
Wow, this is great to here! I'd love to see a production on the Vestals! Keep me posted :) Thanks for your kind words, and good luck in your writing!
Yes! Awesome channel :) Happy to be one of your first subscribers before you blow up!
Thank you so much! I appreciate the sub, Caleb!
Just watched your video with Ari. Brought much clarity to me from an astrological viewpoint. Thank you for your insights.
So glad you enjoyed! Ari speaks so eloquently; I learned a lot too!
Very interesting topic. I very much appreciate your level of research; it surpasses mine. So, I am curious and only mean this as conversation - as clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church became “officially” widespread, per se, in the 11th century. So, while it was a growing thing prior to that, it was not the “thing” initially. That said, when encountering ancient story I tend to veer towards pondering metaphorically. Symbolically also can work as a definition here. (Von Daniken comes to mind, albeit a slightly different topic)
What else could virginity mean? Other words that come to mind are purity, fresh, or possibly related to virga. For example, the word purity: someone who may not have been ‘spoiled’ by whatever may be undesirable values in a community? Hence an ability to ‘focus’ on their responsibilities…. a metaphor that can be understood on multiple levels, and carried through generations.
Very nice presentation. Namaste.
Thanks for this! Yes, I think that virginity, especially in religious contexts, extended far beyond physical celibacy, for those reasons you mentioned. There's some discourse about this in Vestal scholarship from the 1990s, notably Mary Beard and Holt Parker (who are arguing back and forth about why Vestals needed to be virgins and why they wore bridal outfits). Both articles are free on JSTOR, btw for those interested.
GREAT CONTENT EXPRESSED CLEARLY THANKS A LOT
I am currently doing a paper for this topic and this helps a lot thanks!
I am not sure I agree with your explanation in all cases. Explaining Vesta's virgin status as an indication of her focus on the responsibility for an eternal flame is plausible. As an explanation for the virginity of priests and nuns the "devotion" justification is used, I think, to avoid mentioning the anti-sex ideology at the base of early Christianity and other Plato-influenced religions.
The virginity of Athena/Minerva is explained differently, even by the Greeks themselves, as in the play the Eumenides: Athena is on the side of men in wanting to prioritise males over females.
As to Artemis, the play Hippolytus links her to same sex attraction perhaps but more importantly, like Enkidu in the Gilgamesh epic, sexual contact equates to leaving nature and entering the human city (counter intuitively to us, maybe) which Artemis cannot do.
BTW "Vesta and the Virgins" sounds like an all-woman pop group!
Ah, very interesting! Thanks for your comments! I do think virginity can have a variety of justifications or explanations, and different gods/goddesses might be associated with different reasons for maintaining chastity.
Yes - that would be an excellent pop group!
i love the gods just chillin' on a park bench! -as fire is used for purification, and virgins are considered pure, it makes sense that you would want your fire goddess to be a virgin. just an idea. -it is mindblowing to think that almost every fire in rome came from a single source when the empire was founded. did the etruscans worship fire also? were they the first romans?
The Etruscans were one of the pre-Roman Italic peoples - among others like the Sabines and Oscans. I wouldn't say they worshipped fire or treated it the way the Romans do, but they had the same divinity structure overall (about 12 major gods, with about the same functions as the Greek and Roman ones)
You are well read and give excellent information on the subjects you discuss. And a very beautiful woman.
Thx
Were there any ritual intercourse as a part of worship?
Ngl I have deepseated trauma with Vesta as I used to be a Vestal virgin in a past life and i'm trying to work on my fear of being buried alive.
The Greeks copied the Zalmoxianism that came from Thracian - Geti - Dacia - Romania. Hestia was a queen of the Geti. So if you want more info you need to know that Hestia was honored in the Temple of Sun - Sarmizegetusa in Romania. So her human origin is coming from Romania. Also the romans copied from the Dacians. So all you read is fals.
Talking head. Needed illustrations.