earth or altar were
gathered the various members of the family, the head of the house occupying
the place of honour nearest the hearth. Here prayers were said and
sacrifices offered, and here also every kind and loving feeling was
fostered, which even extended to the hunted and guilty stranger, who, if he
once succeeded in touching this sacred altar, was safe from pursuit and
punishment, and was henceforth placed under the protection of the family.
Any crime committed within the sacred precincts of the domestic hearth was
invariably visited by death.

[Illustration]

In Grecian cities there was a common hall, called the Prytaneum, in which
the members of the government had their meals at the expense of the state,
and here too was the Hestia, or public hearth, with its fire, by means of
which those meals were prepared. It was customary for emigrants to take
with them a portion of this sacred fire, which they jealously guarded and
brought with them to their new home, where it served as a connecting link
between the young Greek colony and the mother country. Hestia is generally
represented standing, and in accordance with the dignity and sanctity of
her character, always appears fully draped. Her countenance is
distinguished by a serene gravity of expression. {50}

VESTA.

Vesta occupies a distinguished place among the earlier divinities of the
Romans. Her temple in Rome, containing as it were the hearthstone of the
nation, stood close beside the palace of Numa Pompilius.

On her altar burned the never-ceasing fire, which was tended by her
priestesses, the Vestal Virgins.[22]

The temple of Vesta was circular in form, and contained that sacred and
highly prized treasure the Palladium of Troy.[23]

The great festival in honour of Vesta, called the Vestalia, was celebrated
on the 9th of June.

DEMETER (Ceres).

Demeter (from _Ge-meter_, earth-mother) was the daughter of Cronus and
Rhea.[24] She represented that portion of Gaea (the whole solid earth) which
we call the earth's crust, and which produces all vegetation. As goddess of
agriculture, field-fruits, plenty, and productiveness, she was the
sustainer of material life, and was therefore a divinity of great
importance. When ancient Gaea lost, with Uranus, her position as a ruling
divinity, she abdicated her sway in favour of her daughter Rhea, who
henceforth inherited the powers which her mother had previously possessed,
receiving in her place the honour and w