An eight-day long festival called the Vestalia began today in ancient Rome in honour of the hearth Goddess Vesta. Here are 10 things you might not know about Vesta and her festival.
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Vesta was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, and like most of her siblings, was swallowed by Saturn to foil a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him. When Jupiter (who’d been hidden by his mother so escaped being eaten) grew up and released his siblings, Vesta, having been swallowed most recently, was the first to be released. Hence she is seen as the oldest and youngest of the Titans simultaneously.
Her Greek equivalent is Hestia.
Vesta was beautiful and sought after as a wife by Neptune and Phoebus. They fought over her, but she wasn’t interested in either of them. In fact, she didn’t want to marry at all and asked Jupiter to let her stay a virgin. He agreed and so she got the job of taking care of the home and hearth.
She was very important to the Romans as in Roman cities there was no easy way to make a Fire. Keeping the home fire burning was therefore a vital task. Vesta’s temple with its constantly burning fire took on great significance. This fire would be extinguished and re-lit on 1st March, the Roman new year, but if it went out at any other time it was seen as an omen of disaster for Rome.
This meant that a dedicated work force was needed to tend the fire and make sure it didn’t go out. This job was performed by attendants known as Vestal Virgins. They were women who made a 30 year vow of chastity and devoted themselves to tending the fire and also to the study of rituals that male priests were not allowed access to. Any Vestal Virgin who broke her vows would be flogged in public or buried alive.
The inner sanctum of Vesta’s temple wasn’t usually open to the public, but during the Vestalia, older women could go in, provided they took their sandals off. Women celebrated the festivals with processions, ceremonies, sacrifices and cleansing rituals.
Vesta wasn’t often depicted in human form but rather was represented by a flame. When she was given a human image it would be that of a fully clothed woman, sometimes with a Donkey. Why a donkey? Because according to one myth, she once attended a party thrown by Cybele. During the party, Priapus attempted to sneak up on Vesta in order to rape her, and she and the other gods were alerted to his presence by a donkey braying. Donkeys were also used to turn millstones and therefore had an everyday association with the hearth and baking.
Roman mythology is generally full of gods and goddesses fighting and quarrelling with each other. Vesta was unique in that she didn’t get involved in any of the family feuds.
Romans often invoked Vesta along with Janus, especially at weddings. Vesta was the threshold and Janus the doorway, so both gods would be present at a marriage.
Vesta was so important to the spiritual life of Romans that hers was one of the last pagan cults standing when Christianity took hold. The cult of Vesta remained active until Christian emperor Theodosius I forcibly disbanded it in AD 391.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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