Virgo (constellation) Virgo (constellation) Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is ♍. Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. It can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica. The bright star Spica makes it easy to locate Virgo, as it can be found by following the curve of the Big Dipper/Plough to Arcturus in Boötes and continuing from there in the same curve ("follow the arc to Arcturus
Cancer (constellation) as a lobster. Richard Allen, in "Star-names and Their Meanings", lists names for the constellation as follows: In Ancient Greece, Aratus called the crab "Καρκινος" ("Karkinos"), which was followed by Hipparchus and Ptolemy. The Alfonsine tables called it "Carcinus", a Latinized form of the Greek word. Eratosthenes extended this as "Καρκινος", "Ονοι", "και Φατνη" ("Karkinos", "Onoi", "kai Fatne"): the Crab, Asses, and Crib. In Ancient Rome, Manilius and Ovid called the constellation "Litoreus" (shore-inhabiting). "Astacus" and "Cammarus" appear in various classic writers, while it is called "Nepa" in Cicero's "De Finibus" and the works of Columella, Plautus, and Varro; all