關於處女座(Virgo)的由來，還有一則神話述說是由「Erigone」昇天所變成的星座。
Erigone之名是「Born-at-Dawn」，即是指「下弦月」(陰暦の毎月２２～２３日の月で、
明け方に見える半月です。 ちょうど日の出頃に南中し、弦を下にして沈むので下弦と呼ばれます。)
因為她如月亮女神般徬徨尋找－
| Erigone Êrigonê (Born-at-Dawn) is called Alêtis because she wandered like the Moon Goddess, searching with her she-dog Maira (Glittering One) for her father Ikaros. For the farmer Ikaroshad brought the gift of wine from the birthplace of Dionysos, where the God Himself had taught him viticulture. Ikaros hitched up his plough team to pull the wagon of full wine skins through the countryside, but he was killed by wild shepherds when they became drunk. The dog Maira found the corpse where they had buried it by a tree, and brought Êrigonê to it. In grief she hung herself from that very tree, around which a vine had grown; thereby her love was fulfilled. The three ascended to the heavens; Ikaros became Bootes (the Ploughman), Êrigonê became Virgo (the Virgin) and Maira became Canicula (the Little Dog), or, as others say, the Dog-star |
雅典人為了紀念她，於葡萄收成(農曆七月以後,秋季)時舉行少女(處女)在樹下盪鞦韆的儀事。
| Swinging like Erigone: During the day, the virgin Athenian girls let the boys push them in swings, associating themselves with the tragic figure of Erigone. Erigone's swingingWoman seated on a swing, 530-520 B. C. memorialized the sacred love-death of the tragic Erigone who hung herself after discovering her father dead in a well. Her father was Ikarios, the first man Dionysos showed how to make wine and whose death came at the hands of the ungrateful villagers he had first shared the nectar with as they believed he had poisoned them. Before Erigone's death she marries Dionysus and the girls would sing a song where they would touch the grape at the height of their ascent. The Roman poet Ovid has her become the god's wife by eating a grape, but in Aristotle's time a song of Erigone was penned by a famous erotic poet. Kerényi notes this rite that has roots as far back as ancient Crete and Sumer, judging by unearthed statuettes of swinging girls. Erigone's swinging symbolizes the moment of death and love, a theme rarely explored by artists in the present. This playful ritual formed a prelude for another sacred marriage, that of the Athenian queen with Dionysos. |
在奧維德的變形記，則提到酒神巴克斯變成一串葡萄引誘Erigone，僅僅只是吃下葡萄。
盪鞦韆原本就是用來採高處的葡萄，即蕩到最高點時(v=o,時間最久)來採葡萄，
又盪鞦韆的快樂與刺激感與性交、性歡娛的聯想。
「Song of Erigone 」就是描寫她的放蕩。
此外，盪到最高處也象徵接近於天，因為她與葡萄成熟有關，
處女座原本是與豐收與果物穀物成熟有關之星座，因此「Erigone」盪至高天成為處女座。
也因此當處女座之 ε(Vindemiatrix->採葡萄者)在西邊的夜空閃耀時，人們就知道葡萄採收的季節到了。
在東方則是七夕之後葡萄就變甜的說法。
Erigone的神話之所以轉變為女兒對父親的濃厚親情，恐怕是因為「Virgo」與「Daughter」的關聯，
她的「悲劇」則是「犧牲」與「果物(豐收)」的神話主題，當然成為星座則是「昇華」。
至於徘徊追尋，則是處女座神話的共通象徵主題，如Demeter女神找尋女兒Persephone，是「母尋女」。
Isis女神尋找丈夫Osirs的遺體，則是「妹尋兄」，此處的Erigone則是「女尋父」。
然而，在Demeter女神與Isis女神之神話都涉及「不死」的奧秘，只有Erigone的神話似乎缺少此主題。
印度的kanyaa カンヤー座(処女座)為乘船(渡彼岸)持劍(智慧)與火炬(明)的少女(處女)。
在Demeter女神與Isis女神之神話皆提到持著火炬不捨晝夜找尋親人。
|
Hearing Persephone's screams, the goddess Demeter rushes to the meadow, but cannot find Persephone. Carrying a torch, Demeter traveled the world day and night, never eating or resting, searching futilely for her daughter. |
同樣Erigone也具有同樣的描述，因此火炬為「徘徊找尋」的象徵。
在奧維德的《變形記》以「Isis對Osiris的搜尋永無止境影射這個神話的年度儀式」，
同樣Eleusis mysteries之奧秘則是重現母女團圓的場景。
而紀念Erigone的儀式則是葡萄收成(農曆七月以後,秋季)時舉行少女(處女)在樹下盪鞦韆的儀事，
也是一種「重現」，反覆來造成「永恆回歸」的神話時間->一種秩序的「保証」。
