Vestalia was a Roman religious festival in honor of
Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and the burning continuation of the sacred fire of Rome. It was held from 7-15 June.
Domestic and family life in general were represented by the festival of the goddess of the house and of the spirits of the storechamber — Vesta and the
Penates
In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates () or Penates ( ) were among the ''dii familiares'', or household deities, invoked most often in domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire on the hearth for the Penates. ...
— on ''Vestalia''. On the first day of festivities the ''penus Vestae'' (''
sanctum sanctorum
The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of t ...
'' of the
temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta h ...
which was usually curtained off) was opened, for the only time during the year, at which women offered sacrifices.
As long as the curtain remained open, mothers could come, barefoot and disheveled, to leave offerings to the goddess in exchange for a blessing to them and their family.
The animal consecrated to Vesta, the donkey, was crowned with garlands of flowers and bits of bread on 9 June.
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
says that donkeys were adorned with necklaces of bread-bits in memory of the myth where Vesta is nearly violated by
Priapus
In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical ter ...
. In that myth, it is the untimely bray of a donkey that startles Priapus and causes him to flee. Before that, he says donkeys were honored on 9 June in thanks for the services they provided in the bakeries.
The final day, 15 June, was ''Quando Stercum Delatum Fas''
when dung may be removed lawfully" The ''penus Vestae'' was solemnly closed, the ''Flaminica Dialis'' observed mourning, and the temple was subjected to a purification called ''stercoratio'': the filth was swept from the temple and carried next by the route called ''clivus Capitolinus'' and then into the Tiber.
The military ''
Feriale Duranum'' of AD 224 records the first day of ''Vestalia'' as ''Vesta '' and the last day as ''Vesta cluditur''.
See also
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Roman festivals
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singula ...
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Carmentalia
Carmentalia was the two feast days (11 January and 15 January) of the Roman goddess Carmenta
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Carmenta was a goddess of childbirth and prophecy, associated with technological innovation as well as the prote ...
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Floralia
The Floralia was a festival in ancient Roman religious practice in honor of the goddess Flora, held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 in the Julian calendar. The festival included ''Ludi Florae'', the "Games of Flora", which laste ...
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Cerealia
In ancient Roman religion, the Cerealia was the major festival celebrated for the grain goddess Ceres. It was held for seven days from mid- to late April. Various agricultural festivals were held in the "last half of April". The Cerealia celebra ...
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Fornacalia
The Fornacalia was an Ancient Roman religious festival celebrated in honor of the goddess ''Fornax'', a divine personification of the oven (''fornax''), and was related to the proper baking of bread.
History
The Fornacalia may have been establishe ...
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Opiconsivia
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Divalia
The Divalia was a Roman festival held on December 21, in honour of the goddess Angerona
In Roman religion, Angerona or Angeronia was an old Roman goddess, whose name and functions are variously explained. She is sometimes identified with the god ...
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Furrinalia
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Matralia
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Lemuria (festival)
The Lemuralia or Lemuria was an annual event in the religion of ancient Rome, during which the Romans performed rites to exorcise any malevolent and fearful ghosts of the restless dead from their homes. These unwholesome spectres, the ''lemur ...
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Matronalia
In ancient Roman religion, the Matronalia (or Matronales Feriae) was a festival celebrating Juno Lucina, the goddess of childbirth (" Juno who brings children into the light"), and of motherhood (''mater'' is "mother" in Latin) and women in gene ...
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Liberalia
In ancient Roman religion, the Liberalia (March 17) was the festival of Liber Pater and his consort Libera. T.P. Wiseman, ''Remus: a Roman myth'', Cambridge University Press, 1995, p.133. The Romans celebrated Liberalia with sacrifices, proce ...
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Parilia
upright=1.5, ''Festa di Pales, o L'estate'' (1783), a reimagining of the Festival of Pales by Joseph-Benoît Suvée
The Parilia is an ancient Roman festival of rural character performed annually on 21 April, aimed at cleansing both sheep and sh ...
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Rosalia, a festival of roses celebrated throughout the Roman Empire
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May Queen
In the British Isles and parts of the Commonwealth, the May Queen or Queen of May is a personification of the May Day holiday, and of springtime and also summer. The May Queen is a girl who rides or walks at the front of a parade for May D ...
References
Modern sources
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{{Roman religion (festival)
Ancient Roman festivals
June observances
Summer festivals
Vesta (mythology)