Bronze coin of Empress Julia Domna, minted in Troy, showing Ilus (the founder of Troy) offering at a lit altar.
I’ve included this coin for a couple reasons. First, because the Vestal Virgin (and mother of Rome’s founder, Romulus) was of Trojan lineage. In fact, another name for Rhea Silvia is Ilia. I’ve also included it because of the statue of Athena: it’s hard to see, but if you look closely, you can see a statue of the goddess wearing a helmet. According to legend, when the Greeks invade Troy (via the Trojan horse trick) and the city burns, the Trojan hero Aeneas escapes, and takes with him this statue of Athena. This statue, called the Palladium, is eventually brought to Rome by Aeneas’s descendants. Because it is so linked to the fate of Rome, it is put into the care of the Vestal Virgins in the Temple of Vesta.