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The Vestal Virgins relied on a system in which more senior members of the order transmitted knowledge of the ritual duties to the newer priestesses, assisting them as they advanced to the rank of Chief Vestal (Seneca De Otio 2.2; DiLuzio 2016). Recent scholarship has highlighted epigraphic evidence for mentoring relationships between Chief Vestals and their advisees (Palmer 2020). The Vestal Octavia Honorata honors her Chief Vestal mentor with an inscription, remarking that she was “always advanced by her recommendations” (CIL 6.2138). Additionally, the Vestals made significant contributions to cross-gender mentoring, supporting men with a variety of careers. This paper will use epigraphic evidence from the atrium Vestae to argue that the Vestals advanced the careers of male protégés who recognized the priestesses with inscriptions. These men chose to voice their support for the Vestals’ leadership, and this evidence has been largely overlooked amidst accounts of alleged unchastity written by male authors. Inscriptions dedicated by male protégés challenge gendered conceptions of mentoring, attesting to successful cross-gender mentoring arrangements in which senior women advanced the careers of men.

Men with a range of careers credit the Vestals with helping them to advance professionally. Several members of the fictores, male subordinate religious colleagues (cf. Mekacher 2006; Rüpke 2007) dedicated inscriptions commemorating their professional associations with the Vestals. Additionally, Quintus Veturius Callistratus honors the Vestal Campia Severina, stating that he secured a position as an imperial financial administrator “by her vote,” and promoting the eternal praise that she received from the senate (CIL 6.2132). The soldier Aemilius Pardalas thanks Campia Severina for helping him secure his equestrian status and his military position (CIL 6.2131). Aurelius Fructosus wishes Coelia Claudiana the best on the occasion of her reaching the milestone of twenty years of service while also noting that he was “an approved candidate by her kindness” (CIL 6.3240). In addition to commemorating the Vestals’ roles in helping them, the men engage in reciprocal mentoring (Duff 1999), promoting the professional achievements of the priestesses on inscriptions.

Inscriptions from the atrium Vestae attest to the Vestals’ successful leadership in cross-gender mentoring. The display in the atrium Vestae reinforces the female gender identity of the priestesses, reminding viewers that the mentors honored on inscriptions are women. Feminine superlative adjectives are conventional on the epigraphic monuments (cf. Frei-Stolba 1998), and statues portray the Vestals in the symbolic feminine costume of the priesthood (Gallia 2014; Lindner 2015). Additionally, this ancient case study has contemporary relevance because it illustrates the importance of more fully recognizing women’s contributions to mentoring. Whereas contemporary dialogues on mentoring highlight the significance of men mentoring women (Johnson and Smith 2019) and the potential barriers that impede mentoring across genders (O’Neill and Blake-Beard 2002), the significant contributions of women leaders to cross-gender mentoring have received less attention.