Home > Virgo Index > Virgo Constellation
How
did Virgo get its name?
Virgo - "the Virgin" in Latin, whose Greek name was Parthenos. Confusion and chaos run wild when it comes to the naming of and the mythology behind the constellation of Virgo (I bet that drives Virgos crazy!).
However, ancient sources do tend to agree on associating Virgo with the maiden aspect of what's called the "tripartite Mother Goddess" (maiden, mother, crone). After that, it's anybody's best guess as to who Virgo was.
According to Theony Condos (Star Myths), Virgo was associated with Dike, Demeter, Tyche (Fortuna), Thespia, Kore (aka Persephone), Eileithyaia (goddess of childbirth), Athena, and Hecate.
Granted, one of the most popular associations is with the Greek goddess, Dike (meaning justice). During the Golden Age of humanity, the gods lived among mortals. Slowly the morals of humanity deteriorated and the gods began leaving one by one. Dike (daughter of Zeus and Themis) was the final goddess to give up on humanity and leave earth.
return to the Constellation Index
return to all about the Zodiac Sign of Virgo