Vesta
was the goddess of hearth and home. She was Jupiter's sister. She
had three famous brothers, actually - Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. She
had two very famous sisters - Juno, queen of the gods, and Ceres, queen
of the harvest.
You would think there would be lots of myths about such an important goddess. But there
are not a lot of myths about Vesta.
Still, she was quite
important to the women in ancient times. Every day, when the women gathered
in the central courtyard of their homes to do their sewing and cooking,
they knew that Vesta was keeping watch over them.
Vesta was not, perhaps, as important a goddess in ancient Rome as she was in ancient Greece. Roman
women had far more freedom, especially under the empire. But both Roman and Greek women took comfort
in Vesta.
Vesta held a seat
on the Roman Council of 12 gods, the Dei
Consentes.
