Vesta (mythology)
Vesta (mythology)
!Coin issued under [Nero: the reverse depicts the cult statue of Vesta, holding a patera and scepter, within her hexastyle temple.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/NERONE-RICI62-155505VESTA.jpg/250px-NERONE-RICI62-155505VESTA.jpg)
Vesta (mythology)
The myths depicting Vesta and her priestesses were few; the most notable of them were tales of miraculous impregnation of a virgin priestess by a phallus appearing in the flames of the sacred hearth — the manifestation of the goddess combined with a male supernatural being. In some Roman traditions, Rome's founders Romulus and Remus and the benevolent king Servius Tullius were conceived in this way. Vesta was among the Dii Consentes, twelve of the most honored gods in the Roman pantheon. She was the daughter of Saturn) and Ops, and sister of Jupiter), Neptune), Pluto), Juno), and Ceres). Her Greek equivalent is Hestia.
Etymology
Ovid derived Vesta from Latin vi stando – "standing by power". Cicero supposed that the Latin name Vesta derives from its Greek counterpart, Hestia, which Cornutus claimed to have derived from Greek hestanai dia pantos ("standing for ever"). This etymology is offered by Servius as well. Another proposed etymology is that Vesta derives from Latin vestio ("clothe"), as well as from Greek ἑστία (hestia, "hearth" = focus urbis). None, except perhaps the last, are probable.
Reading List
Report Issue