Astraea (mythology) - in Culture and Literature

In Culture and Literature

Astraea's hoped-for return was referred to in a phrase from Virgil's Eclogue IV: "Iam redit et virgo, redeunt Saturnia Regna" (The Virgin and the Days of Old return).

During the European Renaissance, Astraea became associated with the general spirit of renewal of culture occurring at that time, particularly in England, where she became poetically identified in literature with the figure of Queen Elizabeth I as the virgin Queen reigning over a new Golden Age. In Spain she was often identified with the rule of Philip IV. The French Author Honore D'Urfe wrote a very popular serial novel called L'Astree (Astraea), the first and second parts being published in 1607 and 1610 and each installment very much anticipated by the aristocratic public at the time. Rousseau in his Confessions p. 160 Penguin Classic notes it as one of the novels read with his father and says it "was the one that recurred most frequently to my mind". A spectacle play by the Count of Villamediana and thirteen dramas by Calderon de la Barca introduce a character named Astraea to the foreground of political and astrological concerns. In Russia, Astraea was identified first with Elizabeth, then with Catherine the Great.

The English epic poet Edmund Spenser further embellished this myth at the opening of Book V of The Faerie Queene (1596), where he claims that Astraea left behind "her groome | An yron man", called Talus. Shakespeare refers to Astraea in Titus Andronicus, and also in Henry VI, part 1. In his most famous play, La vida es sueño, Calderon de la Barca has a character named Rosaura (an anagram for "dawns") take on the name of Astraea at Court. This may be a laudatory political allusion to the dawn of a new Golden Age under Philip IV/Segismundo.

Astraea is also referenced in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, in Book IV between lines 990 and 1000. When Satan is discovered in the Garden of Eden and brought before the Angel Gabriel, the two are on the verge of war.

Hung forth in Heav'n his golden Scales, yet seen
Betwixt ASTREA and the SCORPION signe,
Wherein all things created first he weighd,
The pendulous round Earth with ballanc't Aire
In counterpoise, now ponders all events,
Battels and Realms

The British writer Aphra Behn used "Astrea" as one of her code-names while working as a spy for King Charles II. She subsequently used the name "Astrea" to identify the speaker in many of her poems, and was herself referred to as "The Incomparable Astrea".

"Astræa" is also the title of a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

In Book 2 of Robert Browning's The Ring and the Book there is the following reference:

There’s an end to all hope of justice more. Astraea's gone indeed, let hope go too! Who is it dares impugn the natural law? Deny God’s word "the faithless wife shall die?"

In the manga/anime series Sora no Otoshimono, Astraea is the name of an angeloid. In the Japanese anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 00 one of the Gundam mobile suits is called Astraea. Astraea is operated by Celestial Being, a paramilitary organisation that fights for peace and a "justice" of sorts. Another anime series, Strawberry Panic, takes place atop "Astraea Hill", which may be a representational title for purity due to the religious undertones found in the anime.

Astraea is mentioned as a cursed Demon Soul in the 2009 video game Demon's Souls. She is the final boss of stage 5-3, protected by Garl Vinland. She has been cursed, in her purity, of discovering that God never existed, despite her devotion. She is lamented for being the purest of all souls, and yet at the same time, the most corrupt.

The heavy metal band The Sword has also released a song called "Astraea's Dream" in their 2010 album Warp Riders.

British hardcore band Rolo Tomassi's third album is titled Astraea.