1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Virgo

VIRGO (“the Virgin”), in astronomy, the sixth sign of the zodiac (q.v.), denoted by the symbol ♍︎. It is also a constellation mentioned by Eudoxus (4th century B.C.) and Aratus (3rd century B.C.); Ptolemy catalogued 32 stars, Tycho Brahe 33, Hevelius 50. The Greeks represented this constellation as a virgin, but different fables are current as to the identity of the maid. She is variously considered to be: Justitia, daughter of Astraeus and Ancora, who lived before man sinned, and taught him his duty, and when the golden age ended she returned to heaven; according to Hesiod the virgin is the daughter of Jupiter and Themis; others make her to be Erigone, daughter of Icarius, or Parthene, daughter of Apollo. The most interesting stars of this constellation are: α Virginis, or Spica, a star of the first magnitude with a very faint companion; and γ Virginis, a binary star, having components of the third magnitude.