Vestales
“Vestaes, the virgin priestesses of Vesta, who ministered in her temple and watched the eternal fire. Their existence at Alba Longa is connected with the earliest Roman traditions, for silva the mother of Romulus was a member of the sisterhood; their establishment in the city, in common with almost all other matters connected with state religion, is generally ascribed to Numa, who selected four, two from the Titienses and two from the Rames; and two more were subsequently added from the Luceres, by Tarquinius Priscus according to one authority, by Servius Tullius according to another. This number of six remained unchanged to the latest times.” &mdash Smith; 1873
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Roman EmpireSource
William Smith, A School Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873) 354
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