The Costume of the Vestal Virgins
The Costume of the Vestal Virgins
This chapter examines the Vestal costume. Like the dress of a respectable matrona, the costume of a Vestal rendered visible her social status and moral probity. The full Vestal regalia included the seni crines (six-tressed) hairstyle, a headdress composed of the infula and vittae (woolen bands), a veil known as the suffibulum, a palla (mantle), the soft shoes of a priestess, and a long tunica (tunic). Through a detailed analysis of the Vestal costume, the chapter analyzes how its constituent parts worked together to define and represent a Vestal's position as a public priestess and ideal virgin. These two facets of her identity were inextricably linked and absolutely central to her role in Roman society. A Vestal's virginity guaranteed her ritual purity and her ability to secure the inviolability of the city. In addition to these vital ritual and symbolic functions, her absolute castilas provided a template of feminine virtue after which other women could model their behavior.
Keywords: Vestal costume, moral probity, Vestal regalia, seni crines hairstyle, suffibulum, palla, tunica, virginity, ritual purity, feminine virtue
Princeton Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
