Editing Astraea (section)

=== Virgil ===
The first-century BC Roman poet [[Virgil]] wrote that Astraea was destined one day to come back to Earth, bringing with her the return of the utopian Golden Age of which she was the ambassador,{{sfn|De Armas|1986|pages=[https://archive.org/details/returnofastraeaa0000fred/page/n11/mode/2up?view=theater 1–3]}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = [[Brill's New Pauly]] | publisher = Brill Reference Online | url = https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/NPOE/e204630.xml | doi = 10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e204630 | last = Graf | first = Fritz | location = Columbus, OH | title = Astraea | date = October 1, 2006 | editor-first1 = Hubert | issn = 1574-9347 | editor-last1 = Cancik | editor-first2 = Helmuth | editor-last2 = Schneider | access-date = December 2, 2024}}</ref> and the reign of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturnus]], a Roman fertility god associated with the Greek [[Cronus]], but who nevertheless had an independent origin and worship in the Italic peninsula, lauded as the fallen god-king who introduced agriculture and helped humans develop civilization.{{sfn|Versnel|1992|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kWU33X4gPmUC&pg=PA136 136]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=kWU33X4gPmUC&pg=PA143 143]}} The prophecy of Astraea's hoped-for return is found in the fourth book of his ''[[Eclogues]]'': 

{{Verse translation|lang=la|italicsoff=y|Iam redit et virgo, redeunt Saturnia Regna.|[J]ustice returns, returns old Saturn's reign.|attr1=[[Virgil]], ''[[Eclogues]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0057%3Apoem%3D4 4.5–12]|attr2=Translation by J. B. Greenough.}}

Virgil used the pre-existing myth of Astraea within a political frame in order to hail the dawning Augustan rule, signaling the return of harmony and lack of war, conflict and suffering; he adds that Astraea's return will be accompanied by the arrival of a child who will also kick off Augustus' new golden age.{{sfn|Yates|1975|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rEo78qB7RAsC&pg=PA33 33]}}{{sfn|De Armas|1986|pages=[https://archive.org/details/returnofastraeaa0000fred/page/6/mode/2up?view=theater 6-7]}} What is the identity of the child that would escort Astraea is the subject of much debate; it has been speculated that Virgil meant the son of [[Gaius Asinius Pollio]], the consul to whom the poem was dedicated; or the marriage of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Octavia the Younger]], Augustus' sister; or even [[Alexander Helios]], the son of [[Cleopatra]] and Mark Antony.{{sfn|De Armas|1986|pages=[https://archive.org/details/returnofastraeaa0000fred/page/6/mode/2up?view=theater 6-7]}}