women in white dresses inside a temple, looking at a lit altar as a woman pours a libation into the fire

This is an illustration, after Louis-Hector Leroux, depicting the Vestal Virgins inside the temple, learning the sacred rites

Here we can see the chief Vestal pouring a libation into the sacred fire as the other Vestals look on. Behind the chief Vestal, another priestess reads from a scroll. I’ve always enjoyed this depiction, as it hints at the formality and rites that were so integral to temple service (although I suspect the Vestals would have kept the temple tidier than this!).

New York Public Library Collection

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Original Watercolor of Vestal Virgins

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Painting of Albinus Giving His Carriage to the Vestal Virgins