Virgo

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula, Doris Vickers, IanRidpath

---

Virgo as defined in the 1920s. IAU and Sky & Telescope

Virgo, The Maiden, is a constellation in the zodiac. It is documented since the 4th century BCE (at least). Prior to this, there had been the constellation of The Furrow at this place. The young lady is a goddess, that much is certain – but which one, the Greeks disagree. Eratosthenes lists a total of five suggestions as to who she might be!

Etymology and History of the Constellation Name

The word ‘virgin’ has an old-fashioned connotation. It no longer refers to women on the marriage market, but exclusively to sexual purity – in earlier times, ideally a characteristic of unmarried women for the purpose of reliably determining paternity and thus financial responsibility, but today no longer necessarily synonymous. So let's say ‘young lady’ to this figure – or Parthenos in Greek, an adult girl.

Origin of Constellation

Hesiod and Aratos, he writes, call her Dike, goddess of justice. Others said it was Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvest and fertility, Tyche, the Greek goddess of chance and luck, Isis, the most powerful Egyptian sorceress and goddess, or Atargatis, the greatest Syrian goddess. The mermaid-like Atargatis is equated with Derketo and thus also with the constellation Andromeda, the other maiden in the sky. In this case, there could be a confusion. Such confusion is supported by the fact that the constellation Virgo, for example, is missing from the Leiden Aratea from the Carolingian period, even though it is located in the zodiac and is therefore of great importance.

The reason for identifying Tyche with this constellation is supposedly that it has no head star. Ptolemy contradicts this, however, as in the Almagest two stars are indicated on the skull and two on the face – i.e. four head stars. The figure depicted in the Almagest also has wings, however. In standard iconography, none of the above-mentioned goddesses are depicted with wings. Atargatis can then be ruled out, as she is a fish-like deity. Isis and Tyche can be depicted with wings. Dike is less likely; like her Latin counterpart Justicia, her symbol is the scales. However, she has accompanying deities with wings, e.g. Nemesis, the goddess of righteous wrath.

While Artemis is the mistress of the female initiation rite, commemorated in the constellation Ursa Major, Demeter is the mistress of the male initiation rite of Eleusis near Athens. The season of spring, when both constellations are visible in the sky throughout the night, may have been the archaic reason for these figures. Demeter could also be identified with the Babylonian goddess Shala, whose iconography features an ear of grain.

Leo and Virgo above the MUŠ-Dragon, two claytablet drawings from the Seleucid era (roughly 2nd century BCE), CC BY SMH based upon the drawings by E. Weidner (1967) and Thureau-Dangin (1922).

Kugel Globe: Cancer, Leo, Hydra, Virgo (drawing by SMH 2024)

Babylonian

In MUL.APIN in the 2nd millennium, the zodiac did not yet exist. In the zodiac precursor ‘Moon Path’, this constellation was still called ‘the furrow with the ear of grain’. It was associated with the goddess Shala, a rain goddess and wife of the storm god. Shala's ear of grain, which lies in the furrow, is the stable element in this constellation. The brightest star is called ‘the ear of corn’ not only in MUL.APIN, but also in Greek (stachys) and Latin (Spica). The Latin name is still used today.

see

• AB.SIN₂ The Furrow
• Šala

Greco-Roman

Aratos

[96] Beneath the two feet of Bootes you can observe the Maiden, who carries in her hand the radiant Spica. Whether she is the daughter of Astraeus, who, they say, was the original father of the stars, or of some other, [100] may her way be peaceful! There is, however, another tale current among men, that once she actually lived on earth, and came face to face with men, and did not ever spurn the tribes of ancient men and women, but sat in their midst although she was immortal. [105] And they called her Justice: gathering together the elders, either in the market-place or on the broad highway, she urged them in prophetic tones to judgements for the good o f the people. At that time they still had no knowledge of painful strife or quarrelsome conflict or noise of battle, [no] but lived just as they were; the dangerous sea was far from their thoughts, and as yet no ships brought them livelihood from afar, but oxen and ploughs and Justice herself, queen of the people and giver of civilised life, provided all their countless needs. That was as long as the earth still nurtured the Golden Age. [115] But with the Silver she associated little, and now not at all willingly, as she longed for the ways of the earlier folk. But nevertheless she was still with this Silver Age too. She would emerge from the sounding mountains towards evening all alone, and not engage anyone in friendly conversation. [120] But filling the broad hillsides with people, she would then speak menacingly, rebuking them for their wickedness, and say she would never more come face to face with them, even if they called her: ‘What an inferior generation your golden fathers have left! And you are likely to beget a still more evil progeny. [125] There will surely be wars, yes, and unnatural bloodshed among men, and suffering from their troubles will come upon them.’ So saying she made for the mountains, and left the people all staring after her. But when these men also had died and there were born [130] the Bronze Age men, more destructive than their predecessors, who were the first to forge the criminal sword for murder on the highways, and the first to taste the flesh of ploughing oxen, then Justice, conceiving a hatred for the generation of these men, flew up to the sky and took up her abode in that place, [135] where she is still visible to men by night as the Maiden near conspicuous Bootes. Above her two shoulders there circles a star [on her right wing: it is called again the Vintager], of similar magnitude and inset with a brightness equal to [140] that of the star which can be seen beneath the tail of the Great Bear. Impressive is the Bear, and impressive are the stars that she has nearby: once you have sighted them, you do not need any other guide, such are the stars that in beauty and magnitude move before her feet, one in front of the forelegs, one before the legs that descend from her loins, [145] and another under the hind knees. But all of them, individually in different positions, go on their way without a name. (Kidd 1997)

Hipparchus

Rising (Lib II Cap V §10)

The Rising of ...

	east		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
star
duration	2 1/8 hours = 127.5 min = 31 7/8 degree

Setting (Lib II Cap VI §10)

	west		south
	lam1	lam2	lam1	lam2
star
duration	2 2/3 hours = 160 min = 40°

Stars Mentioned

	Greek	German	English	ident.	src		lam_culm
					Lib II Cap V §10	rising, east, first
					Lib II Cap V §10	rising, east, last
					Lib II Cap VI §2	setting CrB, south, last	Psc 13.5
					Lib II Cap VI §13	setting Aql, south, first	Ari 2
					Lib III Cap I §9	rising Ori, south, last	Psc 13

Hyginus, Astronomica

Hesiod calls her the daughter of Jove and Themis. Aratus says that she is thought to be daughter of Astraeus and Aurora, who lived at the time of the Golden Age of men and was their leader. On account of her carefulness and fairness she was called Justice, and at that time no foreign nations were attacked in war, nor did anyone sail over the seas, but they were wont to live their lives caring for their fields. But those born after their death began to be less observant of duty and more greedy, so that Justice associated more rarely with men. Finally the disease became so extreme that it was said the Brazen Race was born; then she could not endure more, and flew away to the stars. Others call her Fortune — others, Ceres, and they dispute the more about her because her head is dimly seen. Some have called her Erigone, daughter of Icarus, whom we have spoken of before. Others call her a daughter of Apollo by Chrysothemis, an infant, named Parthenos. Because she died young she was put by Apollo among the constellations. (Mary Ward 1960)

Almagest

id	Greek (Heiberg 1898)	English (Toomer 1984)	ident.
	Παρθένου ἀστερισμός	Constellation of Virgo
1	τῶν ἐν ἄκρῳ τῷ κρανίῳ β ὁ νότιος.	the southernmost of the 2 stars in the top of the skull	nu Vir
2	ὁ βορειότερος αὐτῶν.	The northernmost of them	xi Vir
3	ὁ τῶν ἐπομένων αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ β ὁ βορειότερος.	The northernmost of the 2 stars to the rear of these, in the face	omi Vir
4	ὁ νοτιώτερος αὐτῶν.	The southernmost of them	pi Vir
5	ὁ ἐπ’ ἄκρας τῆς νοτίου καὶ ἀριστερᾶς πτέρυγος.	The star on the tip of the southern, left wing	bet Vir
6	τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀριστερᾷ πτέρυγι δ ὁ προηγούμευος.	The most advanced of the"4 stars in the left wing	eta Vir
	ὁ τούτῳ ἑπόμενος.	The one to the rear of this	gam Vir
	ὁ ἔτι τούτῳ ἐπόμενος.	The one to the rear again of this	46 Vir
	ὁ ἔσχατος καὶ ἐπόμευος τῶν δ	The last and rearmost of the 4	tet Vir
	ὁ ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ πλευρῷ ὑπὸ τὴν ξώνηη	The star in the right side under the girdle	del Vir
	τῶν ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ καὶ βορεύῳ πτέρυψι γ’ ὁ προηγούμενος	The most advanced of the 3 stars in the right, northern wing	rho Vir
	τῶν λοιπῶν β’ ὁ νότιος	The southernmost of the other 2	32 Vir
	ὁ βόρειος αὐτῶν καὶ καλούμενος Προτρογητήρ	The northernmost of these, called 'Vindemiatrix'	eps Vir
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ἀκροχείρου ὁ καλούμενος Στάχυς	The star on the .. left hand, called 'Spica'	alf Vir
	ὁ ὑπὸ τὸ περίξωμα ὡς κατὰ τοῦ δεξιοῦ γλουτοῦ.	The star under the apron, just about over the right buttock	zet Vir
	τοῦ ἐν τῷ ἀριστερῷ μηρῷ τετραπλεύρου τῆς προηγουμένης. πλευρᾶς ὁ βόρειος.	The quadrilateral in the left thigh: the northern star on the advance side	74 Vir
	ὁ νότιος τῆς προηγουμένης πλευρᾶς.	The quadrilateral in the left thigh: the southern star.on the advance side	76 Vir
	τῆς ἐπομένης πλευρᾶς τῶν β’ ὁ βορειότερος.	The quadrilateral in the left thigh: the northernmost of the 2 stars on the rear side	82 Vir
	ὁ νοτιώτερος τῆς ἐπομένης πλευρᾶς	The quadrilateral in the left thigh: the southernmost star on the rear side	68 Vir
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ γόνατος	The star on t he lel't knee	86 Vir
	ὁ ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ ὀπισθομήρῳ.	The star in the back of the right thigh	90 Vir
	τῶν ἐν τῷ περιποδίῳ σύρματι 7’ ὁ μέσος.	The middle star of the 3 in the garment·hem round the feet	iot Vir
	ὁ φότιος αὐτῶν	The southernmost of them	kap Vir
	ὁ βόρειος τῶν τριῶν	The northernmost of thc three	phi Vir
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ καὶ νοτίου ἀκρόποδος	The star an the left, southern foot	lam Vir
	ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ καὶ βορεύου ἀκρόποδος.	The star on the right, northern foot	mu Vir
	ἀστέρες κε, ὧν αἱ μεγέθους ἂ, γ’ς, δ’ ξ, ε'ι, ς’ β	26 stars, 1 of the lirst magnitude, 6 of the third, 7 of the fourth, 10 of the fifth, 2 of the sixth
	Οἱ περὶ τὴν Παρθένου ἀμόρφωτοι.	Stars araund Virgo outside the constellation
	τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν ἀριστερὸν πῆχυν ἐπ’ εὐθείας τριῶν ὁ προἠγούμενος	Thc most advanced ofthe three in a straight line under the left forearm	chi Vir
	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν	The middle one of these	psi Vir
	ὁ ἑπόμενος τῶν γ	The rearmost of the 3	49 Vir
	τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν Στάχυν ὡς ἐπ’ εὐθείας γ’ ὁ προηγούμενος	Thc most advanced of the 3 stars almost on a straight line under Spica	53 Vir
	ὁ μέσος αὐτῶν καὶ διπλοῦς	The middle one of thcse, which isadouble star	61 + 63 Vir
	ὁ ἐπόμενος τῶν τριῶν	The rearmost of the three	89 Vir
	ἀστέρες ξ, ὥν ἐ μεγέθους ὅ, ς’ β	6 stars, 4 of the fifth magnitude, 2 of thc sixth

Convex Hull for the stars inside Parthenos (CC BY Youla Azkarrula).

Stars within the Constellation Area

id	Label	IAU design.	description	Vmag
1	Spica	HIP 65474	Constellation lines (Vertex)	0.97
2	Porrima	HIP 61941	Constellation lines	2.74
3	Vindemiatrix	HIP 63608	Constellation lines (Vertex)	2.79
4	Minelauva	HIP 63090	Constellation lines	3.38
5	Heze	HIP 66249	Constellation lines	3.38
6	* gam Vir B	HR 4826	Inside the hull	3.49
7	Zavijava	HIP 57757	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.6
8	μ Virginis	HIP 71957	Constellation lines (Vertex)	3.88
9	Zaniah	HIP 60129	Constellation lines	3.9
10	ν Virginis	HIP 57380	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.04
11	Syrma	HIP 69701	Inside the hull	4.08
12	ο Virginis	HIP 58948	Constellation lines	4.12
13	Kang	HIP 69427	Constellation lines	4.21
14	τ Virginis	HIP 68520	Constellation lines	4.237
15	θ Virginis	HIP 64238	Inside the hull	4.397
16	Khambalia	HIP 69974	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.52
17	π Virginis	HIP 58590	Constellation lines	4.642
18	Apamvatsa	HIP 66006	Inside the hull	4.69
19	ψ Virginis	HIP 62985	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.8
20	σ Virginis	HIP 64852	Inside the hull	4.8
21	Elgafar	HIP 70755	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.84
22	ξ Virginis	HIP 57328	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.842
23	ρ Virginis	HIP 61960	Constellation lines	4.88
24	78 Vir	HIP 66200	Inside the hull	4.94
25	16 Vir	HIP 60172	Inside the hull	4.96
26	82 Vir	HIP 66803	Inside the hull	5.01
27	υ Virginis	HIP 70012	Inside the hull	5.14
28	90 Vir	HIP 67929	Inside the hull	5.159
29	d2 Vir	HIP 62267	Constellation lines	5.207
30	76 Vir	HIP 66098	Constellation lines	5.21
31	4 Vir	HIP 57562	Inside the hull	5.316
32	7 Vir	HIP 58510	Inside the hull	5.345
33	106 Vir	HIP 70794	Inside the hull	5.418
34	84 Vir	HIP 66936	Inside the hull	5.423
35	95 Vir	HIP 68940	Inside the hull	5.453
36	g Vir	HIP 64122	Inside the hull	5.564
37	6 Vir	HIP 58110	Inside the hull	5.569
38	31 Vir	HIP 61968	Inside the hull	5.573
39	-	HIP 62325	Inside the hull	5.65
40	136 G. Vir	HIP 65198	Inside the hull	5.687
41	80 Vir	HIP 66320	Inside the hull	5.706
42	FW Vir	HIP 61658	Inside the hull	5.71
43	-	HIP 59309	Inside the hull	5.72
44	66 Vir	HIP 65420	Inside the hull	5.749
45	44 Vir	HIP 63414	Inside the hull	5.791
46	65 Vir	HIP 65323	Inside the hull	5.858
47	64 Vir	HIP 65241	Inside the hull	5.873
48	25 Vir	HIP 61558	Inside the hull	5.88
49	13 Vir	HIP 60030	Inside the hull	5.897
50	92 Vir	HIP 68092	Inside the hull	5.898
51	224 G. Vir	HIP 69493	Inside the hull	5.9
52	79 G. Vir	HIP 62103	Inside the hull	5.918
53	50 Vir	HIP 64224	Inside the hull	5.943
54	146 G. Vir	HIP 65545	Inside the hull	5.965
55	37 Vir	HIP 62757	Inside the hull	6.003
56	56 G. Vir	HIP 61103	Inside the hull	6.034
57	183 G. Vir	HIP 67271	Inside the hull	6.049
58	* 46 Vir A	HIP 63494	Inside the hull	6.07
59	72 Vir	HIP 65892	Inside the hull	6.098
60	38 Vir	HIP 62875	Inside the hull	6.11
61	230 G. Vir	HIP 69747	Inside the hull	6.141
62	9 G. Vir	HIP 57629	Inside the hull	6.15
63	104 Vir	HIP 70680	Inside the hull	6.161
64	57 G. Vir	HIP 61134	Inside the hull	6.172
65	19 G. Vir	HIP 58445	Inside the hull	6.176
66	FT Vir	HIP 60813	Inside the hull	6.21
67	2 Lib	HIP 70336	Inside the hull	6.214
68	85 G. Vir	HIP 62421	Inside the hull	6.26
69	IQ Vir	HIP 58002	Inside the hull	6.29
70	112 G. Vir	HIP 64181	Inside the hull	6.32
71	68 G. Vir	HIP 61637	Inside the hull	6.334
72	EP Vir	HIP 62376	Inside the hull	6.34
73	51 G. Vir	HIP 60804	Inside the hull	6.342
74	129 G. Vir	HIP 64838	Inside the hull	6.351
75	225 G. Vir	HIP 69564	Inside the hull	6.36
76	-	HIP 58809	Inside the hull	6.38
77	211 G. Vir	HIP 68739	Inside the hull	6.387
78	204 G. Vir	HIP 68380	Inside the hull	6.394
79	35 Vir	HIP 62443	Inside the hull	6.41
80	150 G. Vir	HIP 65796	Inside the hull	6.419
81	229 G. Vir	HIP 69727	Inside the hull	6.434
82	91 G. Vir	HIP 62915	Inside the hull	6.439
83	240 G. Vir	HIP 70038	Inside the hull	6.44
84	96 Vir	HIP 69127	Inside the hull	6.46
85	17 Vir	HIP 60353	Inside the hull	6.47
86	233 G. Vir	HIP 69773	Inside the hull	6.47
87	-	HIP 67004	Inside the hull	6.498
88	235 G. Vir	HIP 69881	Inside the hull	6.5
89	-	HIP 57636	Inside the hull	6.56

Transformation of constellation image

• 
  Sco-Lib+Furrow+Leo in Stellarium "MUL.APIN"
• 
  Leo and Virgo above the MUŠ-Dragon, two claytablet drawings from the Seleucid era (roughly 2nd century BCE), CC BY SMH based upon the drawings by E. Weidner (1967) and Thureau-Dangin (1922).
• 
  Leo+Hya+Vir drawings of VAT7847+AO6884 on Stellarium map
• 
  Drawing of the Babylonian version of the Maiden constellation by Papke (1987)
• 
  Leo and Vir above Hydra on the circular Dendera Zodiac, mapped to Stellarium
• 
  Cancer, Leo, Virgo above Hydra on Greek Kugel Globe (1st century)

Mythology/ Religion

The immortal Dike, daughter of Zeus and Themis, once lived on Earth. She could not be seen by men, but she lived among women. As humans became increasingly brutal, waging wars and revolts against each other and no longer respecting justice, she first retreated to the mountains and finally disappeared into the heavens in disgust at the boundless injustice. This is reported by Hesiod, Aratus and Eratosthenes. They allude to a popular ancient fable that teaches the struggle for justice, because otherwise humanity will perish.

The story of Demeter is closely intertwined with that of her daughter Persephone. Persephone was abducted by Hades to be his wife, prompting Demeter to search for her. So Demeter is certainly not a ‘virgin’ if she has a daughter – just as Isis and Atargatis are not. If one wants to link the story of the abduction of the daughter with the constellation, Persephone herself could at best be this lady. She is also sometimes depicted with wings and assists her mother in the initiation ritual, so that the archaic context would also fit. However, she is missing from Eratosthenes' list of suggestions.

Weblinks

• Ridpath, Ian, “Star Tales: online edition”.