ABSTRACT
The Vestals had an unusual legal status at Rome, one that was shared by no other Roman, male or female, religious official or otherwise. Their financial position was also in many respects anomalous, especially when compared to that of other Roman women. These two topics are closely related, if for no other reason than that the Vestals’ legal freedom from tutelage had direct consequences for their ability to manage their own private fortunes, many of which seem to have been considerable. The first of these topics has been a popular one among modern scholars and is well examined. Surprisingly, however, the second has been largely unconsidered by these same scholars. This chapter, therefore, will of necessity take two different approaches to these two separate but related areas. In examining the Vestals’ legal status, it will consider the ancient evidence but focus primarily on various modern scholars’ interpretations of it. In considering the priestesses’ financial situation, it will concentrate primarily upon the various types of ancient evidence available to us today rather than the discussions of modern scholars, which are largely non-existent. In both instances, though, it will argue that the anomalies found in these areas are due to and can be explained by the Vestals’ peculiar liminal position as members of Rome’s citizen group but non-members of its family structure that has been delineated in Chapters 3 and 4.
