Oh the strange feeling of posting the first message on a lonely thread. Anyways here goes my little disclaimer. I figured I'd just go on and give a little introduction into the lives of the Vestal Virgins. I'm no expert, just trying to contribute, therefore, please excuse any errors here.

The Vestal Virgins

It could be said that basically the Vestal Virgins were a group of women selected to serve Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth. The traditional number is six although originally there were two and then four during Plutarch's time. These women were highly respected and venerated priestesses who in many aspects enjoyed a level of freedom and emancipation like that of their male counterparts in society. Vestal Virgins were not under the potestas of their fathers and enjoyed priviledges such as the freedom to make a will and having fasces carried before them when they went out in public.

But these extraordinary priviledges did not come without sacrifice. A Vestal Virgin made a vow of chastity and dedicated herself to Vesta for thirty years. They spent ten years as apprentices, ten serving and ten teaching the new virgins. The women were selected as girls, originally from Patrician families and later from any freeborn family.

Their main obligation was to tend and protect the sacred fire in the Temple of Vesta. If a Vestal Virgin let the fire be extinguished she could be punished by death. Other duties of the priestesses (or handmaidens of Vesta) were to throw straw figurines unto the Tiber on May 15 and making holy cakes for the June Vestalia festival. At the beginning of the festival the temple was opened to women for the bringing of offerings and at the end it had to be ritually cleansed.

Sources http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa111400a.htm
http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/encyclopaedia_romana/romanforum/vesta.html