The mystery of the Roman social virgin guarding the flame
Legend has it that in 471 BC, the virgin Linna, who was responsible for guarding the sacred fire of the Temple of the Vesta, was tried, and a slave filed a complaint that she had violated her oath to maintain her virginity and had not been a virgin when performing the sacraments, and therefore asked her to reply. The two men she was accused of at the same time, one committed suicide, the other was beaten and executed; more frighteningly fate awaited Linna, who, after being convicted, gave her a rod, and then tied firmly to a covered corpse bed, pushed through the eerie and silent Streets of Rome (everyone was closed and waiting for the punishment of the god Zao), to a wilderness at the gate of the Collin City, confined in the pit of a tomb, leaving her with only 30 days' food and drink, leaving her to die.
To understand this cruel method of execution, it is necessary to first know the importance and special status of the virgin who guarded the sacred fire in the Vista Temple of Roman society. The origin of the ritual of guarding the sacred fire of the temple of the goddess can be traced back to around 715 BC, during the reign of the second king of Rome, Pompelias. This cult lasted for more than a thousand years, and although the Roman Emperor Constantine had slightly reduced the influence of Christianity as an orthodox religion after he recognized Christianity as an orthodox religion in 313 AD, it continued until 394 AD, when it was explicitly banned by Emperor Theodosius.
At the time of Linna, the temple dedicated to the Roman god Vesta lit the sacred flame for many years, and there were 6 virgins guarding the sacred flame. They lived together in a place called the Shrine of the Temple, and held important religious duties as guardians of the temple's sacred flames; They guarded the eternally burning sacred flame in the temple to commemorate the difficulties of every fire in prehistoric times. The worship of the gods centered on fire, and because fire was pure and untainted, the Romans believed that it could only be guarded by virgins.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the shrine, a new virgin is appointed to guard the sacred flame of the Vista Temple, which occurs every 5 years or so. The chief priest first selects as candidates 20 girls between the ages of 6 and 10, usually the daughters of noble families, and then selects one by drawing lots. When elected girls enter the shrine, they are no longer under the control of their parents and are instead disciplined by the chief priest. The girls who were selected knew little about the trials and temptations of the future, and had to observe virginity and dedicate themselves to the priesthood for 30 years from the date of their election to their retirement. After 30 years, it is theoretically possible to regain their freedom, to return to the world, and to marry and live the life of an ordinary citizen, but very few virgins who guard the sacred flame do. At that time, there was a superstition that kind of marriage was always difficult to say happy, so most virgins who guarded the sacred flame preferred not to marry for life, and love was somewhat tragic.
The virgin who guarded the flame lived in the temple of the Goddess, southeast of the Roman sanhedrin, and could only leave when she was ill. Each virgin was on duty for at least 8 hours a day, as was the current working system, and was responsible for keeping the flame in the temple from being extinguished. They also have other duties, such as praying for the public, going to holy springs to fetch water, and cooking sacrifices for rituals. In the festival of celebrating the harvest of crops, the virgins who guard the sacred flame have many religious tasks, and even more bizarrely, they also participate in the fertility ceremony! Since the roman society as a whole recognized these virgins as holy and unfiled, they were also appointed to keep their wills, treaties, other important documents, and treasures. The roman emperor's will was of great importance to their preservation, and the will of Julius Caesar, who was assassinated at that time, was kept by them for 6 months. This service may have been provided voluntarily by them, and entrusting them with such a heavy responsibility is often seen as a tribute to them.
The virgin who guarded the flame enjoyed honors and privileges that no other Roman woman could enjoy. They traveled in ornately decorated carriages, and even high-ranking officials such as consuls and local officials had to give way. They also have the right to pardon a person who is escorted to the execution site to die. They testify in court and are exempt from taking the oath. For example, when they go to an arena to visit a fight, they are assigned the best seat in the front row, while the average woman usually sits only in the seat at the top of the arena (that is, the worst seat). The virgins who guarded the flame had a lot of property, because when they joined the cult of the god, the state allocated them a large sum of money.
Virgins who guard the sacred flame are also subject to strict discipline and are punished with the harshest punishment for making a mistake. If they neglected their duties, the priests would punish them severely. The punishment for letting the flame go out is flogging, and the virgin who does not keep the vow of virginity is buried alive. Thus reflecting the Romans' belief that the virgin guarding the flame must be pure, which is the symbol and guarantee of life in Rome itself.
In the long course of thousands of years of history, fewer than 20 virgins were buried alive, in part because the punishment was severe enough to deter them. Of course, among the 20 punished women, there were also those who were wronged, because the Romans were more superstitious at that time, believing that other disasters could be caused by respectable virgin misconduct. There are some stories that the virgin who guarded the sacred flame was accused, which later proved to be slander, but the process of clearing the suspicion was like a miracle.
The holy flame under Amenia's control was extinguished, and she begged for mercy from the god, and tore a piece of sackcloth from her robe and threw it on the dead ash, and the sackcloth immediately burned to prove her innocence. Another Anlena, who guarded the flame, was falsely accused of losing her virginity. After filling her sieve with water, she walked through the streets of Rome with her hand, and not a single drop of water flowed out, so all charges were immediately dropped.
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