A beautiful little building in Rome is called the Temple of Vesta. Hundreds of years have passed since the Romans built this shrine. Many buildings and temples erected since have been destroyed, but this little temple still stands to show the thought and the artistic taste of the old Romans.

Vesta is the goddess of the hearth. Fire is the emblem of friendship and hospitality, and in the temple of Vesta the fire was kept burning night and day. The Romans believed that if this fire went out, great trouble would come upon the people. So maidens were chosen to guard the fire and honor the goddess.

Little girls, six years old, were taken from the best families in Rome, for it was considered a great honor to be chosen. For ten years they were taught the duties of a vestal virgin. Then for ten years they served the goddess at her altar fires, and after that they became the teachers of the young children.

When a great general had won a victory over the enemies of Rome, and all the people gathered to celebrate the return of the soldiers from the battlefield, the vestal virgins had an honored place in the procession. At the great games held in the Coliseum, the vestals sat next to the emperor; for they guarded the fire of home—the dearest place on earth.