Who Were The Vestal Virgins?

What happened if a Vestal Virgin broke their pledge of virginity? How would a woman be chosen for the role? And were there any benefits to taking it?Kate is finding out in this episode with Peta Greenfield, co-author of ‘Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire’ and co-host of ‘The Partial Historians’, with her colleague Dr Fiona Radford.This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.Please vote for us for Listeners' Choice at the British Podcast Awards! Follow this link, and don’t forget to confirm the email. Thank you!Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.