| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Vesta, in Roman religion and mythology |
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| in Roman religion and mythology, hearth goddess. She was highly honored in every household from early times to the beginning of Christianity. Her public cult maintained a sacred building in which her priestesses, the vestal virgins, tended the communal hearth and fire, which was never allowed to die out. Vesta was identified with the Greek Hestia. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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