A lone priestess walks towards an underground chamber. People line the streets to watch as she proclaims her innocence. It doesn't matter. She's already been judged and found guilty. The sentence? Live burial. The underground chamber contains a portion of bread, water, milk, and oil. She will have a lamp, a bed, and a blanket, but she won't emerge alive. At the threshold, the priestess pauses, claims her innocence one last time, then enters the chamber never to be seen again by the Roman people. The priestess is one of Rome's six Vestal Virgins, each carefully selected as children from Rome's most aristocratic families. But now with her death, there are only five, and a new priestess must be chosen. The six-year-old Licinia witnessed the spectacle, never suspecting that a few days later, she'd be chosen as the next Vestal Virgin. Her age, her patrician family lineage, and her apparent good health makes her the best candidate to serve the goddess Vesta in the eyes of the Romans. Her parents are proud that their daughter's been chosen. Licinia is afraid, but she has no choice in the matter. She must serve the goddess for at least the next 30 years. For the first ten years of Licinia's service, she's considered in training, learning how to be a Vestal Virgin. Her most important duty is keeping vigil over the flame of Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth. Vesta doesn't have a statue like other Roman gods and goddesses. Instead, she's represented by the flame which burns day and night in her temple located next to the Forum in the center of the city. Like all Vestal priestesses, Licinia spends part of each day on shift, watching and tending to the flame. The flame represents two things. The first is the continuation of Rome as a power in the world. The Romans believed that if the flame goes out, the city's in danger. The flame also symbolizes the continuing virginity of Vesta's priestesses. For the Romans, a Vestal's virginity signaled not only her castitas, or modest spirit and body, but also her ritual purity. So Licinia knows she must never let the flame go out. Her life, the lives of her fellow Vestals, and the safety of Rome itself depends upon it. Licinia learns to collect water each day from a nearby fountain to cleanse the temple. She learns the Fasti, the calendar of sacred rituals and she watches while the senior priestesses conduct sacrifices. By the time Licinia completes her training, she's 16 years old. Licinia understands that the way she must act is a reflection of the goddess she serves. When it's her turn to collect the water, she keeps her eyes lowered to the ground. When she performs sacrifices, she focuses intently on the task. Licinia directs her energy towards being the best priestess she can be. She's worried that someday the state will claim her life for its own purposes to protect itself from danger. Licinia could be accused of incestum, meaning unchastity, at any time and be sacrificed whether she's innocent or guilty. Licinia fully understands now why her predecessor was buried alive. Ten years ago, the flame of Vesta went out. The priestesses knew that they couldn't keep it a secret. The future of Rome depended upon it. They went to the chief priest and he opened an investigation to discover why the flame had failed. Someone came forward and claimed that one of the Vestals was no longer a virgin. That was the beginning of the end. The accused protested her innocence, but it wasn't enough. She was tried and found guilty. That Vestal's death was meant to protect the city, but Licinia weeps for what has been lost and for what she knows now. Her own path was paved by the death of another, and her life could be taken just as easily for something as simple as a flame going out.
孤單的女祭司行至地下室 人們排在街道兩旁 看著她宣稱自己無辜 這無關重要 她已經被判定有罪 刑罰? 活埋 地下室內有些麵包、水、牛奶和油 她會有一盞燈、一張床和一張毯子 但她不會再活著出現 臨別之際,女祭司停步 最後一次宣稱自己的無辜 然後步進地下室 不再出現在羅馬民眾面前 這女祭司是 羅馬六位維斯塔貞女之一 每位都是從羅馬貴族家庭的兒童中 精心挑選出來 但現在隨著她的死亡,只餘下五位 必須挑選一位新的女祭司 六歲的 Licinia 親眼目睹這場面 不曾想到數天後 她會被選為下一任的維斯塔貞女 她的年齡、她父系家族血統 和她的健康容貌 讓她在羅馬人眼中 成了侍奉女神維斯塔的最佳人選 她父母為自己女兒被選上而自豪 Licinia 心感害怕 但這由不得她選擇 她必須至少於往後三十年侍奉女神 Licinia 最初十年的侍奉 被視作訓練 學習如何作為一位維斯塔貞女 她最重要的職責是監守維斯塔聖火 維斯塔是爐灶處女神 不像其他羅馬諸神,維斯塔沒有雕像 而是被她神廟內 日夜燃燒的火焰所代表 她的神廟位於城中心 相鄰於古羅馬廣場 正如所有維斯塔女祭司一樣 Licinia 每天輪更 看守和照料火焰 這火焰有兩個含意 第一是羅馬持續作為世界強國 羅馬人相信如果火焰熄滅 城市將陷入危險 火焰也象徵維斯塔女祭司 繼續守持處女之身 對於羅馬人來說,維斯塔女祭司的 處女之身不但標誌她的貞潔 或莊重樸素的精神和身體 也標誌她操持祭禮的純潔 因此 Licina 知道 她絕不能讓火焰熄滅 她的性命 其他維斯塔女祭司的性命 羅馬的安全皆繫於此 Licina 學習每天從附近噴泉取水 來潔淨神廟 她學習神聖祭禮的曆法「Fasti」 她觀看年長的女祭司進行獻祭 當 Licina 完成訓練 她年屆十六 Licinia 明白她的行為舉止 必須是她侍奉的女神的映照 當輪到她去取水,她一直眼望地下 當她進行獻祭,她專注於工作 Licinia 專心致志,盡其所能 成為最好的女祭司 她擔心有一天羅馬會為求自保 而奪去她的性命 Licinia 可於任何時候 被控告亂倫,意即失去貞操 然後無論她是無辜或有罪 都會被犧牲 Licinia 現在終於明白為甚麼 她的前任者會被活埋 十年前,維斯塔的火焰曾熄滅了 女祭司知道她們無法隱瞞 羅馬的未來得靠於此 她們報告祭司長,他展開調查 追究火焰熄滅的原因 某人上前宣稱 其中一位維斯塔女祭司 已失去處女之身 這是結束的開始 被控告的貞女申辯自己的清白 但這不足以改變判決 她接受審判,被指有罪 維斯塔女祭司的死亡 意在保護羅馬 但 Licinia 為逝者 為她現在所知而悲傷流淚 她的路是由另一人的死亡而鋪墊的 她的性命也能如此輕易地被取去 只因火焰熄滅這如此簡單的事