Editing Vesta (mythology) (section)

==Temple==
{{main|Temple of Vesta}}
[[File:Temple of Vesta (4292736669).jpg|thumb|upright|Temple of Vesta in a 2009 photo]]
Where the majority of temples would have a statue, that of Vesta had a hearth. The fire was a religious center of Roman worship, the common hearth (''focus publicus'') of the whole Roman people.{{sfn|Middleton|1892|p=295}} The Vestals were obliged to keep the sacred fire alight. If the fire went out, it must be lit from an ''arbor felix'' ("auspicious tree", probably an oak).{{sfn|Thédenat|1908|pp=89–90}} Water was not allowed into the inner ''aedes'' nor could it remain longer than strictly necessary in or on the nearby premises. It was carried by the Vestales in vessels called ''futiles'' which had a tiny foot that made them unstable.{{sfn|Dumézil|1974|p=284}}

The temple of Vesta held not only the ''ignes aeternum'' ("sacred fire"), but the [[Palladium (classical antiquity)|Palladium]] of [[Pallas Athena]] and the ''di Penates'' as well. Both of these items are said to have been brought into Italy by Aeneas.{{sfn|Severy|2003|p=100}} The Palladium of Athena was, in the words of [[Livy]]: "''fatale pignus imperii Romani''" ("[a] pledge of destiny for the Roman empire").<ref>{{harvnb|Herbert-Brown|1994|p=76}};sf. [[Livy]], ''History of Rome'', 26. 27. 14</ref> Such was the Palladium's importance that when the Gauls sacked Rome in 390&nbsp;BC, the Vestals first buried the Palladium before removing themselves to the safety of nearby [[Caere]].{{sfn|Middleton|1892|p=295}} Such objects were kept in the ''penus Vestae'' (i.e., the sacred repository of the temple of Vesta).{{sfn|Morford|Lenardon|1999|p=510}}

Despite being one of the most spiritual of Roman Shrines, that of Vesta was not a ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#templum|templum]]'' in the Roman sense of the word; that is, it was not a building consecrated by the augurs and so it could not be used for meetings by Roman officials.{{sfn|Middleton|1886|p=395}} It has also been claimed that the shrine of Vesta in Rome was not a ''templum'' because of its round shape. However, a ''templum'' was not a building, but rather a sacred space that could contain a building of either rectangular or circular shape. In fact, early ''templa'' were often altars that were consecrated and later had buildings erected around them.{{sfn|Frothinghom|1914|pp=303–309}} The temple of Vesta in Rome was an ''aedes'' and not a ''templum'' most likely because of the character of the cult of Vesta, the exact reason being unknown.{{sfn|Frothinghom|1914|pp=303–309}}