Astraea
ancient Greek religious figure
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Astraea (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστραία, romanized: Astraía, lit. 'starry, star-like'), also spelled Astrea or Astria, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, and is closely associated with another Greek justice goddess, Dike, the daughter of Zeus and Themis. Astraea is not to be confused with Asteria, the goddess of the stars and the daughter of Coeus and Phoebe.
In Greek myth, Astraea lived together with humans on earth during the idealistic Golden Age, when people were virtuous and no evil existed in the world. But as the human race became progressively crueler and more corrupt, Astraea decided to abandon humanity forever and live among the stars as the constellation Virgo. The Virgo was associated with a number of Greek goddesses in antiquity.
The main belt asteroid 5 Astraea is named after her, and her name was also suggested for the planet Uranus.
Etymology
The goddess's name "Astraea" (spelled in Ancient Greek Ἀστραία) is derived from the Greek word ἀστήρ (astḗr) meaning 'star'. The word ἀστήρ in turn is inherited from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ster- ('star'), from *h₂eh₁s-, meaning 'to burn'. Astraea's name thus shares an etymology with the name of Astraeus, who is her father in some versions, and cousin Asteria.
“Astraea” enters the record as ancient Greek religious figure. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Astraea, ancient and Greek can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q742680. VIAF identifies the subject as 316435075. The Library of Congress control number is no2017086762. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Astraea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.