Priestesses from the Roman Kingdom

thumb|Reverse of a denarius (89 BCE) depicting the torture of Tarpeia thumb|Reverse of a denarius (19-18 BCE) of [[Augustus showing Tarpeia crushed by the soldiers' shields]] In Roman legend, Tarpeia (; mid-8th century BCE), daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of their women's abduction for what she thought would be a reward of jewelry. She was instead crushed to death by Sabine shields and her body cast from the southern Rock (Rupes Tarpeia).