Nineteenth Century painting of Vesta by Manolo de la Cruz which hangs in the Julian Palace.
Vesta is the virgin Maiorist goddess of the hearth, home, and family. She is rarely depicted in human form, and is instead often represented by the eternal fire which burns in her temple in the Julian Forum. Entry to her temples is forbidden to all except her priestesses, the Vestals, who tend her flame. She is considered a guardian of the Eurasian people, and as such the Vestalia festival from the 7th to the 15th of June is one of the most important holidays in Eurasia. During Vestalia, matrons from all Maiorist families walk barefoot to her temple to give offerings.
As a virgin goddess, her priestesses are also known as the Vestal Virgins. In Eurasian law, the crime of rape of a Vestal Virgin is viewed as one of the gravest offenses possible, and is punished by execution by feral dogs -the only crime in Eurasia still punished by damnatio bestiae- publicly. Vesta is a member of the Dii Consentes, the most important gods and goddesses in Mos Maiorum.