Virgo.
Virgo
The maiden — usually Persephone, abducted into the underworld each winter.
Aug 23 – Sep 22
Virgo · 1294 sq° of sky, brightest star Spica
Virgo (Virgo) is the largest zodiacal constellation and the second-largest of all 88 IAU constellations, covering 1294 square degrees. Its brightest star is Spica, a blue subgiant that marks the maiden's left hand holding a sheaf of wheat.
Virgo is the largest zodiacal constellation and the second-largest of all 88 IAU constellations, covering 1294 square degrees. It is most commonly identified with Persephone, daughter of the harvest goddess Demeter.
When Hades, lord of the underworld, abducted Persephone, Demeter's grief blighted the earth. Zeus brokered a compromise: Persephone would return to her mother for part of the year, and live with Hades for the rest — Demeter's sorrow during her absence became autumn and winter.
"Demeter's grief at her daughter's absence became autumn; her joy at her return became spring."
When Persephone returns to the surface, the earth blossoms — and Virgo, holding a sheaf of wheat, rises in the spring sky. Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, marks that sheaf at the maiden's hand.
Where this comes from.
Mythology
- Aratus Phaenomena 96-136
- Ovid Metamorphoses 1.149-150
- Hyginus Astronomica 2.25
Paintings & illustrations
- Proserpine — Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1874) · Wikimedia · PD
- Virgo — Sidney Hall (engraver), Jehoshaphat Aspin (text) (1825) · Wikimedia · PD
For fun · sources cited. We don’t publish horoscopes, personality readings, or compatibility takes — just astronomy + classical mythology, with public-domain art where available. See all 88 constellations.