[67.1] The virgins who serve the goddess were originally four and were chosen by the kings according to the principles established by Numa, but afterwards, from the multiplicity of the sacred rites they perform, their number was increased of six, and has so remained down to our time. They live in the temple of the goddess, into which none who wish are hindered from entering in the daytime, whereas it is not lawful for any man to remain there at night.
[2] χρόνον δὲ τριακονταετῆ μένειν αὐτὰς ἀναγκαῖον ἁγνὰς γάμων θυηπολούσας τε καὶ τἆλλα θρησκευούσας κατὰ νόμον, ἐν ᾧ δέκα μὲν ἔτη μανθάνειν αὐτὰς ἔδει, δέκα δ᾽ ἐπιτελεῖν τὰ ἱερά, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ δέκα διδάσκειν ἑτέρας. ἐκπληρωθείσης δὲ τῆς τριακονταετίας οὐδὲν ἦν τὸ κωλῦσον τὰς βουλομένας ἀποθείσας τὰ στέμματα καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ παράσημα τῆς [p. 251] ἱερωσύνης γαμεῖσθαι. καὶ ἐποίησάν τινες τοῦτο πάνυ ὀλίγαι, αἷς ἄζηλοι συνέβησαν αἱ τελευταὶ τῶν βίων καὶ οὐ πάνυ εὐτυχεῖς, ὥστε δι᾽ οἰωνοῦ λαμβάνουσαι τὰς ἐκείνων συμφορὰς αἱ λοιπαὶ παρθένοι μένουσι παρὰ τῇ θεῷ μέχρι θανάτου, τότε δὲ εἰς τὸν τῆς ἐκλιπούσης ἀριθμὸν ἑτέρα πάλιν ὑπὸ τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν ἀποδείκνυται.
[2] They were required to remain undefiled by marriage for the space of thirty years, devoting themselves to offering sacrifices and performing the other rites ordained by law. During the first ten years their duty was to learn their functions, in the second ten to perform them, and during the remaining ten to teach others. After the expiration of the term of thirty years nothing hindered those who so desired from marrying, upon laying aside their fillets and the other insignia of their priesthood. And some, though very few, have done this; but they came to ends that were not at all happy or enviable. In consequence, the rest, looking upon their misfortunes as ominous, remain virgins in the temple of the goddess till their death, and then once more another is chosen by the pontiffs to supply the vacancy.
[3] τιμαὶ δὲ αὐταῖς ἀποδέδονται παρὰ τῆς πόλεως πολλαὶ καὶ καλαί, δι᾽ ἃς οὔτε παίδων αὐταῖς ἐστι πόθος οὔτε γάμων, τιμωρίαι τε ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτανομένοις κεῖνται μεγάλαι, ὧν ἐξετασταί τε καὶ κολασταὶ κατὰ νόμον εἰσὶν οἱ ἱεροφάνται, τὰς μὲν ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐλαττόνων ἁμαρτανούσας ῥάβδοις μαστιγοῦντες, τὰς δὲ φθαρείσας αἰσχίστῳ τε καὶ
[3] Many high honours have been granted them by the commonwealth, as a result of which they feel no desire either for marriage or for children; and severe penalties have been established for their misdeeds. It is the pontiffs who by law both inquire into and punish these offences; to Vestals who are guilty of lesser misdemeanours they scourge with rods, but those who have suffered defilement they deliver up to the most shameful and the most miserable death.
[4] ἐλεεινοτάτῳ παραδιδόντες θανάτῳ. ζῶσαι γὰρ ἔτι πομπεύουσιν ἐπὶ κλίνης φερόμεναι τὴν ἀποδεδειγμένην τοῖς νεκροῖς ἐκφοράν, ἀνακλαιομένων αὐτὰς καὶ προπεμπόντων φίλων τε καὶ συγγενῶν, κομισθεῖσαι δὲ μέχρι τῆς Κολλίνης πύλης, ἐντὸς τείχους εἰς σηκὸν ὑπὸ γῆς κατεσκευασμένον ἅμα τοῖς ἐνταφίοις κόσμοις τίθενται καὶ οὔτ᾽ ἐπιστήματος οὔτ᾽ ἐναγισμῶν οὔτ᾽
[4] While they are yet alive they are carried upon a bier with all the formality of a funeral, their friends and relations attending them with lamentations, and after being brought as far as the Colline Gate, they are placed in an underground cell prepared within the walls, clad in their funeral attire; but they are not given a monument or funeral rites or any other customary solemnities.
[5] ἄλλου τῶν νομίμων οὐδενὸς τυγχάνουσι. πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα δοκεῖ μηνύματα εἶναι τῆς οὐχ ὁσίως ὑπηρετούσης τοῖς ἱεροῖς, μάλιστα δὲ ἡ σβέσις τοῦ πυρός, ἣν ὑπὲρ ἅπαντα τὰ δεινὰ Ῥωμαῖοι δεδοίκασιν ἀφανισμοῦ τῆς πόλεως σημεῖον ὑπολαμβάνοντες, ἀφ᾽ ἧς ποτ᾽ ἂν αἰτίας γένηται, καὶ πολλαῖς αὐτὸ θεραπείαις [p. 252] ἐξιλασκόμενοι κατάγουσι πάλιν εἰς τὸ ἱερόν: ὑπὲρ ὧν κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον καιρὸν ἐρῶ.
[5] There are many indications, it seems, when a priestess is not performing her holy functions with purity, but the principal one is the extinction of the fire, which the Romans dread above all misfortunes, looking upon it, from whatever cause it proceeds, as an omen that portends the destruction of the city; and they bring fire again into the temple with many supplicatory rites, concerning which I shall speak on the proper occasion.
[1] πάνυ δ᾽ ἄξιον καὶ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν ἱστορῆσαι τῆς θεᾶς, ἣν ἐπεδείξατο ταῖς ἀδίκως ἐγκληθείσαις παρθένοις, πεπίστευται γὰρ ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων, εἰ καὶ παράδοξά ἐστι, καὶ πολὺν πεποίηνται λόγον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν οἱ συγγραφεῖς.
[68.1] However, it is also well worth relating in what manner the goddess has manifested herself in favour of those virgins who have been falsely accused. For these things, however incredible they may be, have been believed by the Romans and their historians have related much about them.
[2] ὅσοι μὲν οὖν τὰς ἀθέους ἀσκοῦσι φιλοσοφίας, εἰ δὴ καὶ φιλοσοφίας αὐτὰς δεῖ καλεῖν, ἁπάσας διασύροντες τὰς ἐπιφανείας τῶν θεῶν τὰς παρ᾽ Ἕλλησιν ἢ βαρβάροις γενομένας καὶ ταύτας εἰς γέλωτα πολὺν ἄξουσι τὰς ἱστορίας ἀλαζονείαις: ἀνθρωπίναις αὐτὰς ἀνατιθέντες, ὡς οὐδενὶ θεῶν μέλον ἀνθρώπων οὐδενός. ὅσοι δ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολύουσι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐπιμελείας τοὺς θεούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς εὐμενεῖς εἶναι νομίζουσι καὶ τοῖς κακοῖς δυσμενεῖς διὰ πολλῆς ἐληλυθότες ἱστορίας, οὐδὲ ταύτας ὑπολήψονται τὰς ἐπιφανείας εἶναι ἀπίστους.
[2] To be sure, the professors of the atheistic philosophies, — if, indeed, their theories deserve the name of philosophy, — who ridicule all the manifestations of the gods which have taken place among either the Greeks or barbarians, will also laugh these reports to scorn and attribute them to human imposture, on the ground that none of the gods concern themselves in anything relating to mankind. Those, however, who do not absolve the gods from the care of human affairs, but, after looking deeply into history, hold that they are favourable to the good and hostile to the wicked, will not regard even these manifestations as incredible.
[3] λέγεται δή ποτε τοῦ πυρὸς ἐκλιπόντος δι᾽ ὀλιγωρίαν τινὰ τῆς τότε αὐτὸ φυλαττούσης Αἰμιλίας ἑτέρᾳ παρθένῳ τῶν νεωστὶ κατειλεγμένων καὶ ἄρτι μανθανουσῶν παραδούσης τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ταραχὴ πολλὴ γενέσθαι κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ὅλην κα�
� ζήτησις ὑπὸ τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν, μή τι μίασμα περὶ τὸ πῦρ τῆς ἱερείας ἐτύγχανε γεγονός: ἔνθα δή φασι τὴν Αἰμιλίαν ἀναίτιον μὲν οὖσαν, ἀπορουμένην δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῷ συμβεβηκότι παρόντων τῶν ἱερέων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων παρθένων τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν ἐκτείνασαν εἰπεῖν: [p. 253]
[3] It is said, then, that once, when the fire had been extinguished through some negligence on the part of Aemilia, who had the care of it at the time and had entrusted it to another virgin, one of those who had been newly chosen and were then learning their duties, the whole city was in great commotion and an inquiry was made by the pontiffs whether there might not have been some defilement of the priestess to account for the extinction of the fire. Thereupon, they say, Aemilia, who was innocent, but distracted at what had happened, stretched out her hands toward the altar and in the presence of the priests and the rest of the virgins cried:
[4] ἑστία τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως φύλαξ, εἰ μὲν ὁσίως καὶ δικαίως ἐπιτετέλεκά σοι τὰ ἱερὰ χρόνον ὀλίγου δέοντα τριακονταετοῦς καὶ ψυχὴν ἔχουσα καθαρὰν καὶ σῶμα ἁγνόν, ἐπιφάνηθί μοι καὶ βοήθησον καὶ μὴ περιίδῃς τὴν σεαυτῆς ἱέρειαν τὸν οἴκτιστον μόρον ἀποθανοῦσαν: εἰ δὲ ἀνόσιόν τι πέπρακταί μοι ταῖς ἐμαῖς τιμωρίαις τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἄγος ἀφάγνισον.
[4] “O Vesta, guardian of the Romans’ city, if, during the space of nearly thirty years, I have performed the sacred offices to thee in a holy and proper manner, keeping a pure mind and a chaste body, do thou manifest thyself in my defence and assist me and do not suffer thy priestess to die the most miserable of all deaths; but if I have been guilty of any impious deed, let my punishment expiate the guilt of the city.”
[5] ταῦτ᾽ εἰποῦσαν καὶ περιρρήξασαν ἀπὸ τῆς καρπασίνης ἐσθῆτος, ἣν ἔτυχεν ἐνδεδυκυῖα, βαλεῖν τὸν τελαμῶνα ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν μετὰ τὴν εὐχὴν λέγουσι καὶ ἐκ τῆς κατεψυγμένης πρὸ πολλοῦ καὶ οὐδένα φυλαττούσης σπινθῆρα τέφρας ἀναλάμψαι φλόγα πολλὴν διὰ τῆς καρπάσου, ὥστε μηδὲν ἔτι δεῆσαι τῇ πόλει μήτε ἁγνισμῶν μήτε νέου πυρός.
[5] Having said this, she tore off the band of the linen garment she had on and threw it upon the altar, they say, following her prayer; and from the ashes, which had been long cold and retained no spark, a great flame flared up through the linen, so that the city no longer required either expiations or a new fire.
[1] ἔτι δὲ τούτου θαυμασιώτερόν ἐστι καὶ μύθῳ μᾶλλον ἐοικὸς ὃ μέλλω λέγειν. κατηγορῆσαί τινά φασιν ἀδίκως μιᾶς τῶν παρθένων τῶν ἱερῶν Τυκκίας ὄνομα, ἀφανισμὸν μὲν πυρὸς οὐκ ἔχοντα προφέρειν, ἄλλας δέ τινας ἐξ εἰκότων τεκμηρίων καὶ μαρτυριῶν ἀποδείξεις φέροντα οὐκ ἀληθεῖς: κελευσθεῖσαν δ᾽ ἀπολογεῖσθαι τὴν παρθένον τοῦτο μόνον εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τοῖς ἔργοις ἀπολύσεται τὰς διαβολάς:
[69.1] But what I am going to relate is still more wonderful and more like a myth. They say that somebody unjustly accused one of the holy virgins, whose name was Tuccia, and although he was unable to point to the extinction of the fire as evidence, he advanced false arguments based on plausible proofs and depositions; and that the virgin, being ordered to make her defence, said only this, that she would clear herself from the accusation by her deeds.
[2] ταῦτα δ᾽ εἰποῦσαν καὶ τὴν θεὸν ἐπικαλεσαμένην ἡγεμόνα τῆς ὁδοῦ γενέσθαι προάγειν ἐπὶ τὸν Τέβεριν ἐπιτρεψάντων μὲν αὐτῇ τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν, [p. 254] τοῦ δὲ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ὄχλου συμπροπέμποντος: γενομένην δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πλησίον τὸ παροιμιαζόμενον ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις τῶν ἀδυνάτων τόλμημα ὑπομεῖναι, ἀρυσαμένην ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καινῷ κοσκίνῳ καὶ μέχρι τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐνέγκασαν παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν ἐξερᾶσαι τὸ ὕδωρ.
[2] Having said this and called upon the goddess to be her guide, she led the way to the Tiber, with the consent of the pontiffs and escorted by the whole population of the city; and when she came to the river, she was so hardy as to undertake the task which, according to the proverb, is among the most impossible of achievement: she drew up water from the river in a sieve, and carrying it as far as the Forum, poured it out at the feet of the pontiffs.
[3] καὶ μετὰ ταῦτά φασι τὸν κατήγορον αὐτῆς πολλῆς ζητήσεως γενομένης μήτε ζῶντα εὑρεθῆναι μήτε νεκρόν. ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ μὲν τῶν ἐπιφανειῶν τῆς θεᾶς ἔχων ἔτι πολλὰ λέγειν καὶ ταῦτα ἱκανὰ εἰρῆσθαι νομίζω.
[3] After which, they say, her accuser, though great search was made for him, could never be found either alive or dead. But, though I have yet many other things to say concerning the manifestations of this goddess, I regard what has already been said as sufficient.
[1] ἕκτη δὲ μοῖρα τῆς περὶ τὰ θεῖα νομοθεσίας ἦν ἡ προσνεμηθεῖσα τοῖς καλουμένοις ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων σαλίοις, οὓς αὐτὸς ὁ Νόμας ἀπέδειξεν ἐκ τῶν πατρικίων δώδεκα τοὺς εὐπρεπεστάτους ἐπιλεξάμενος νέους, ὧν ἐν Παλατίῳ κεῖται τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ καλοῦνται Παλατῖνοι. οἱ μὲν γὰρ Ἀγωναλεῖς, ὑπὸ δέ τινων Κολλῖνοι καλούμενοι σάλιοι, ὧν τὸ ἱεροφυλάκιόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ Κολλίνου λόφου, μετὰ Νόμαν ἀπεδείχθησαν ὑπὸ βασιλέως Ὁστιλίου κατ᾽
[70.1] The sixth division of his religious institutions was devoted to those the Romans call Salii, whom Numa himself appointed out of the patricians, choosing twelve young men of the most graceful appearance. These are the Salii whose holy things are deposited on the Palatine hill and who are themselves called the (Salii) Palatini; for the (Salii) Agonales, by some called the Salii Collini, the repository of whose holy things is on the Quirinal hill, were appointed after Numa’s time by King Hostilius, in pursuance of a vow he had made in the war against the Sabines. All these Salii are a kind of dancers and singers of hymns in praise of the gods of war.
[2] εὐχήν, ἣν ἐν τῷ πρὸς Σαβίνους εὔξατο πολέμῳ. οὗτοι πάντες οἱ σάλιοι χορευταί τινές εἰσι καὶ ὑμνηταὶ τῶν ἐνόπλων θεῶν. ἑορτὴ δ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐστι περὶ τὰ Παναθήναια ἐν τῷ καλουμένῳ Μαρτίῳ μηνὶ δημοτελὴς ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ἀγομένη, ἐν αἷς διὰ τῆς πόλεως ἄγουσι τοὺς χοροὺς εἴς τε τὴν ἀγορὰν καὶ τὸ Καπιτώλιον καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους ἰδίους τε καὶ δημοσίους τόπους, χιτῶνας ποικίλους χαλκαῖς μίτραις [p. 255] κατεζωσμένοι καὶ τηβέννας ἐμπεπορπημένοι περιπορφύρους φοινικοπαρύφους, ἃς καλοῦσι τραβέας ῾ἔστι δ
᾽ ἐπιχώριος αὕτη Ῥωμαίοις ἐσθὴς ἐν τοῖς πάνυ τιμίἀ καὶ τὰς καλουμένας ἀπίκας ἐπικείμενοι ταῖς κεφαλαῖς, πίλους ὑψηλοὺς εἰς σχῆμα συναγομένους κωνοειδές, ἃς Ἕλληνες προσαγορεύουσι κυρβασίας.
[2] Their festival falls about the time of the Panathenaea, in the month which they call March, and is celebrated at the public expense for many days, during which they proceed through the city with their dances to the Forum and to the Capitol and to many other places both private and public. They wear embroidered tunics girt about with wide girdles of bronze, and over these are fastened, with brooches, robes striped with scarlet and bordered with purple, which they call trabeae; this garment is peculiar to the Romans and a mark of the greatest honour. On their heads they wear apices, as they are called, that is, high caps contracted into the shape of a cone, which the Greeks call kyrbasiai.
[3] παρέζωσται δ᾽ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ξίφος καὶ τῇ μὲν δεξιᾷ χειρὶ λόγχην ἢ ῥάβδον ἤ τι τοιοῦθ᾽ ἕτερον κρατεῖ, τῇ δ᾽ εὐωνύμῳ κατέχει πέλτην Θρᾳκίαν: ἡ δ᾽ ἐστὶ ῥομβοειδεῖ θυρεῷ στενωτέρας ἔχοντι τὰς λαγόνας ἐμφερής, οἵας λέγονται φέρειν οἱ τὰ Κουρήτων παρ᾽ Ἕλλησιν ἐπιτελοῦντες ἱερά.
[3] They have each of them a sword hanging at their girdle and in their right hand they hold a spear or a staff or something else of the sort, and on their left arm a Thracian buckler, which resembles a lozenge-shaped shield with its sides drawn in, such as those are said to carry who among the Greeks perform the sacred rites of the Curetes.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 467