Vestal Virgins and Rome's Mythos

The vestal virgin almost has more respect than the emperor does. Their meaning becomes sort of inextricably linked with emperors, perhaps to their detriment at certain points in the history as well. It's almost as if there's a really tight symbiotic relationship that starts to develop between the emperors and the vestal virgins. And once you get behind that facade, they become eminently more fascinating.