Astraea
titanThe virgin goddess of justice who lived among humans during the Golden Age and was the last immortal to leave Earth.
The Myth
Astraea was the daughter of Astraeus (the Titan of dusk) and Eos (goddess of dawn), or in some traditions the daughter of Zeus and Themis. During the Golden Age, she lived among mortals as the embodiment of justice, a time when humans lived without toil, crime, or suffering. As humanity declined through the Silver and Bronze Ages, growing increasingly violent and impious, the other gods withdrew to Olympus one by one. Astraea alone remained, still hoping to guide humanity toward righteousness. But when the Iron Age dawned — the age of war, greed, and broken oaths — even she could endure no more. She ascended to the heavens and became the constellation Virgo, her scales of justice becoming the adjacent constellation Libra. Ovid tells this story in the Metamorphoses as a lament for lost innocence.
Fun Fact
Astraea became the constellation Virgo, and her scales of justice became Libra — two zodiac signs from one myth.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Astraeus
titanAstraeus was the Titan god of dusk, stars, and astrology — father of the four winds and the stars...
Eos (Titan Dawn)
titanThe rosy-fingered goddess of dawn who opened the gates of heaven each morning for her brother...
Golden Age
titanThe mythical era of peace and plenty under Cronus's rule, before Zeus and the Olympians brought the...
Themis
titanThemis was the Titaness of divine law and natural order — the figure behind Lady Justice.
Themis (Titan Justice)
titanThe Titaness of divine law, custom, and natural order who served as Zeus's first counsellor and...
Titan Mnemosyne (Memory)
titanThe Titaness of memory who lay with Zeus for nine nights and bore the nine Muses, making her the...
Titan War (Titanomachy)
titanThe ten-year war between the Titans and the Olympians that reshaped the cosmos and established...
Ages of Man
conceptHesiod's five successive races of humanity — Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroes, and Iron — each worse...
Eos
godThe rosy-fingered goddess of the dawn who rose each morning to open the gates of heaven for her...
Golden Fleece
conceptThe fleece of a golden-wooled ram, hung in a sacred grove in Colchis and guarded by a sleepless...
Olympus
placeThe highest mountain in Greece and the mythological home of the twelve Olympian gods. Olympus was...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...