The vestal virgins Finally, the vestal virgins lived at the Temple of Vesta in Rome. Vesta was the native Roman goddess of the fireplace and the six virgins tended the sacred fire, baked sacred ...

“[The temple] dates to the fourth century AD ... the continuities between the classical pagan world and early Christian Roman world that often get blurred out or written out of the sweeping ...

The temple is evidence of "remarkable" religious continuity between the Roman world and the early Christian world, according to Boin. "Things didn't change overnight. Before our find, we never had ...

While Rome defined one dimension of Jesus' world, the other was symbolized by the great Temple in Jerusalem ... and 300 C.E., the Christian movement grew throughout the Roman empire.