Vesta is the virgin Roman goddess of the family, home, and hearth. She fought off the advances of Neptune and Apollo. Vesta asked her brother Jupiter to keep her a virgin. Jupiter agreed and she thanked him by tending his fires at home. Vesta was a guardian of the Roman people and was often depicted as a flame. The Vestals were her priestesses who would tend the sacred fire at the hearth in Vesta’s temple. The Roman Forum where central worship, commerce, and gatherings took place, was built around the temple of Vesta. Vesta was worshiped at the hearth in the center of every home. In ancient Rome, sacrifices were made to the gods by throwing food onto the fire burning in the hearth at home. The Vesta symbol is of a hearth with a flame atop. Not only does the Vesta symbol represent the Roman goddess Vesta, but it also represents the brightest asteroid visible from the earth, Vesta 4.