Астрая: Грек мифологиясындағы әділет және тазалық құдайы

Ancient Greek religious figure

Astraea, Astrea, Astria or Austräa (Ἀστραία; "star maiden" or "starry night"), in ancient Greek religion, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, innocence, purity and precision. She is closely associated with the Greek goddess of justice, Dike (daughter of Zeus and Themis). She is not to be confused with Asteria, the goddess of the stars and the daughter of Coeus and Phoebe. The main belt asteroid 5 Astraea is named after her, and her name was also suggested for the planet Uranus.

Astraea, the celestial virgin, was the last of the immortals to live with humans during the Golden Age, one of the old Greek religion's five deteriorating Ages of Man. In the Iron Age, the world was in a chaotic state. People only coveted gold, while family and friends did not trust each other. According to Ovid, Astraea abandoned the earth during the Iron Age. Fleeing from the new wickedness of humanity, she ascended to heaven to become the constellation Virgo. The nearby constellation Libra reflected her symbolic association with Dike, who, in Latin culture is said to preside over the constellation as Justitia. In the tarot, the eighth card (or eleventh, depending on the tarot used), Justice, depicts Justitia, thus making it related to the figure of Astraea on historical iconographic grounds. According to myth, Astraea will one day come back to Earth, bringing with her the return of the utopian Golden Age of which she was the ambassador.