Vesta was once the goddess of the hearth and later became the goddess of the flame that symbolized the Roman state. Since the continuity and salvation of the state was believed to depend on the accurate performance and, above all, the purity of the Vestals, any fall from virginal grace bought the severe punishment of being buried alive. Happily, in the hundreds of years the College of Vestal Virgins existed, this sentence was seldom carried out.

One notable case came during the reign of Domitian. Domitian's Chief Vestal was Cornelia. It appears that she and some of her fellow priestesses had wearied of their vows of celibacy. Unfortunately, they had not been discreet enough in their activities. Domitian condemned them to death in 83AD and finally caught up with Cornelia in 90AD.


An excellent place to go for more information is Bill Thayer's Lacus Curtius.