Virgo. Early Greek astronomy associated the Babylonian constellation with their goddess of wheat and agriculture, Demeter. The Romans associated it with their goddess Ceres. Alternatively, the constellation was sometimes identified as the virgin goddess Iustitia or Astraea, holding the scales of justice in her hand (that now are separated as the constellation Libra). Another Greek myth from later, Classical times, identifies Virgo as Erigone, the daughter of Icarius of Athens. Icarius, who had been favored by Dionysus and was killed by his shepherds while they were intoxicated after which Erigone hanged herself in grief; in versions of this myth, Dionysus is said to have placed the father and daughter in the stars as Boötes and Virgo respectively. Another figure who is associated with the constellation Virgo was the spring goddess Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who had married Hades and resided in the Underworld during summer. In the Poeticon Astronomicon by Hyginus (1st century BC), Parthenos () is the daughter of Apollo and Chrysothemis, who died a maiden and was placed among the stars as the constellation. Diodorus Siculus has an alternative account, according to which Parthenos was the daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, sister of Rhoeo and Molpadia (Hemithea). After a suicide attempt she and Hemithea were carried by Apollo to Chersonesus, where she became a local goddess. Strabo also mentions a goddess named Parthenos worshipped throughout Chersonesus. During the Middle Ages, Virgo sometimes was associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Greek mythology, the constellation is also associated with the daughter of Zeus, Dike the goddess of justice, who is represented holding the scales of justice. Gallery See also Virgo (Chinese astronomy) Citations References Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2017). Stars and Planets Guide (5th ed.), William Collins, London. . Princeton University Press, Princeton. . External links The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Virgo The clickable Virgo Star Tales – Virgo Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (medieval and early modern images of Virgo) Constellations Equatorial constellations Constellations listed by Ptolemy