Vestal virgins:
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (Latin: Vestālēs, singular Vestālis [wɛsˈtaːlɪs]) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome’s sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several suitable candidates, freed from any legal ties and obligations to their birth family, and enrolled in Vesta’s priestly college of six priestesses. They were supervised by a senior vestal but chosen and governed by Rome’s leading male priest, the pontifex maximus—in the Imperial era, this meant the emperor.
Vesta’s acolytes vowed to serve her for at least thirty years, study and practise her rites in service of the Roman State, and maintain their chastity throughout. In addition to their obligations on behalf of Rome, Vestals had extraordinary rights and privileges, some of which were granted to no others, male or female. [Wikipedia]
Noted in “The agony of knowing your millions don’t buy respect,” Monica Hesse, WaPo:
One rich person in the group already had one. Another rich person was planning to get one. The non-pool-haver said something about wanting an installation before the summer and mentioned that the quickest path to that might be an aboveground pool. The ensuing response — stunned horror — was as though she had casually suggested a pool filled with the decanted blood of vestal virgins.
