 Roman tradition required that the leading priest of the Roman state, the "pontifex maximus" reside in a "domus publicus" ("publicly owned house").After assuming the office of "pontifex maximus" in 12 BC, Augustus gave part of his private house to the Vestals as public property and incorporated a new shrine of Vesta within it.The old shrine remained in the "Forum Romanum"'s temple of Vesta, but Augustus' gift linked the public hearth of the state with the official home of the "pontifex maximus" and the emperor's Palatine residence.