Vesta (mythology)

Vesta (mythology), in Roman mythology, the goddess of the hearth, worshiped by Roman families as a household deity. The most important public shrine to Vesta was her round temple in the Forum at Rome, where her fire was said to have been brought from Troy by Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome. The shrine was symbolic of the safety of the city and was watched continually by six vestal virgins, priestesses who kept the fire burning and who served for terms of 30 years according to severe rules. In early June of each year a festival honoring Vesta, called Vestalia, was held. In form the goddess was associated with the flames of her fire. Her Greek counterpart was Hestia.