Who Were The Vestal Virgins?

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, Sex, Scandal, Education, History

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happened if a Vestal Virgin broke their pledge of virginity? How would a woman be chosen for the role? And were there any benefits to taking it?

Kate is finding out in this episode with Peta Greenfield, co-author of ‘Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire’ and co-host of ‘The Partial Historians’, with her colleague Dr Fiona Radford.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone, it's me your host, Kate Lister. I'm just jumping in before the episode to ask you for a little favour.
0:07.6	If you are enjoying betwixt, and I hope that you are, we'd love it if you could vote for us for the
0:12.5	Listeners Choice Awards at the British Podcast Awards. If you follow the link in the show notes,
0:17.9	it should take you to the place you need to go and it would mean the world to us. We were shortlisted last year, and the one before that, and the one before that.
0:27.8	We were so close, and it just made us want it even more. I think we can do it this year. Right,
0:34.5	on with the show. Hello, my lovely betwixters. It's me, Kate Lister, you are listening to Betwicks the Sheets and I'm so glad that you are. Welcome back, dear friends. But before we can go any further together, I have to tell you once again, as I will be telling you from now until the end of time. This is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about adultery things in an adulty way covering a range of adults and you should be an adult too. And we call that
0:56.5	the fair do's warning because if you listen to that and then you keep listening and you get
1:00.0	upset, that one's on you because fair do's you were warned. Right on with the show.
1:09.6	Amongst the spectacular architecture of the Roman Forum, a small circular building sticks out.
1:15.4	Just 15 metres in diameter, the curved walls and the Corinthian columns encircle and enclose a sacred space.
1:23.6	The inside of the temple remains out of sight to the hordes of Roman citizens and senators bustling through the streets under the hot Mediterranean sun.
1:31.9	Smoke rises silently from a hole in the temple's roof like steam from a kettle.
1:36.9	This and the faint smell of wood smoke that grows stronger the closer you draw are the only signs of a fire within.
1:43.5	Out of sight, robed priestesses are at work,
1:46.4	devoted to their task of tending the eternal flame. These are some of the most powerful women in
1:52.0	the Roman world, because the story goes that if that flame goes out, Rome will fall. There's only one catch.
2:05.1	No! Rome will fall. There's only one catch. What do you look for a man? Oh, money, of course.
2:08.4	You're supposed to rise when an adult speaks to you.
2:10.7	I make perfect copies of whatever my boss needs by just turning a knob and pushing the button.
2:16.9	Now! No! ERA! means by just turning enough and pushing the body. Yes, social courtesy does make a difference.
2:25.8	Goodness, I have nothing to do with it, Derry.
2:33.4	Hello, and welcome back to Betwix the Sheets, the history of sex scandal in society, with me, Kate Lister.
	...

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