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Astraea

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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• Astraea
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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Astraea

in Greek legend, the "star maiden," daughter of Zeus and Themis, or of Astraeus the Titan and Eos, in which case she is identified with Dike. During the golden age she remained among men distributing blessings, but when the iron (or bronze) age came on, she was forced to withdraw, being the last of the goddesses to quit the earth. In the heavens she is amongst the signs of the zodiac as the constellation Virgo. She is usually represented with a pair of scales and a crown of stars.

Ov. Met. i. 150; Juv. vi. 19; Aratus, Phaenomena, 96.