TCV Roundtable Blog

100 Greatest Women On Coins Series: Vesta (Hestia)

If you have followed this blog for any amount of time now, you have realized that while we are examining the 100 Greatest Women on Coins publication from Whitman Publishing, we have not gone in any particular order. This particularly rings true today as we are going to turn our attention to the very last entry on the list. With help from author Ron Guth, we will explore a Roman goddess that was among the most elite of women.

#100 - Vesta (Hestia)

A Roman goddess known as Vesta but known as Hestia in Greek mythology, she was a revered deity among all Romans not only at home but in a public forum. A part of The Vestal Virgins, a state-supported cult of an elite group of women, Vesta was selected at a young age and sworn to celibacy for 30 years. As a priestess, the women were to keep the sacred fire in Vesta’s temple continuously lit so that all Roman peoples would have access to fire for their homes. The women, the Vestals as they were known, were privileged more so than anyone else in Rome. They were...read more