Erigone is asteroid #163 and also known as 1957 OT, although she actually was discovered already in 1876. Erigone was discovered by the French astronomer Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin. Erigone is of the type C. Erigone is an asteroid of the “Inner” (actually the proximal section of the) Asteroid (Main) Belt. Erigone’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 2.37 Astronomical Units, an eccentricity of 0.19, a period of revolution of 1 331 days, and an inclination of 4.8 degrees. Erigone is the largest member and the head of the asteroid-family Erigone.

The asteroid #163 is named Erigone after Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη), daughter of Ikários ( Ἰκάριος), from Greek mythology, which knows another Erigone too. The tale of Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη), daughter of Ikários ( Ἰκάριος), is only known from a poem from Eratosthénēs ( Ἐρατοσθένης). All variants of the tale are later interpretations of this poem.

The god Dionysos (Διόνυσος) wandered hither and thither. Once he came at a place, where Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) did host him. Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) offered goat milk to Dionysos (Διόνυσος), but the god declined and did instead show Ikários ( Ἰκάριος), who was known for his great gardening skills, how to cultivate and produce wine. Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) then went himself on a travel and spread the cultivation of wine. Some people killed Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) after experiencing the adverse side-effects of wine, thinking that Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) had planned to poison them. When she got no more news about the activities of her father, Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη) went to search him. Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη) only found his grave. Then she hanged herself on a nearby tree. Her dog Maíra (Μαῖρα) stayed at this place until her (the dog’s) incarnation ended too. Dionysos (Διόνυσος) was upset. He cursed Athens, so that many maidens committed suicide without any apparent reason. This became an epidemic. Such suicides went on and on until the oracle of Delphi was asked and the oracle advised to hold an annual festival for Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) and Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη). This festival was called Aiora (Αἰώρα) and really held annually in Athens in Antiquity. The gods put Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) and Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη) and Maíra (Μαῖρα) in the sky. Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) became the constellation Boötes (which is also in English correctly spelled with an ö, so Boötes brought the vowel ö into the English language!), Erigone ( Ἠριγόνη) became the constellation Virgo, and Maíra (Μαῖρα) became either the constellation Canis Major (“greater dog”) or the star Sirius (also known as “the dog star”; α Canis Majoris) or the constellation Canis Minor (“lesser dog”, consisting of only two stars) or the star Procyon (α Canis Minoris). The name Sirius is derived from an Ancient Greek word meaning glowing or scorching. The name Procyon is derived from Ancient Greek Prokyon (Προκύων) meaning before the dog because Procyon seems to always move ahead of Sirius. The people, who had killed Ikários ( Ἰκάριος) had then fled to the island Keōs (Κέως). The island is meanwhile called Kea. Sirius caused the dog days of summer in order to torture the murderers of Ikários ( Ἰκάριος). The dog days began in Antiquity with the heliacal rising of Sirius, but not any longer (even the fixed stars move significantly over the millennia).

Erigone seems to be represented in the sky by the asteroid #163 as well as by the constellation Virgo. But the constellation Virgo comprises twelve named stars and they seem to have nothing to do with the tale of Erigone. Furthermore the idea that Virgo is Erigone isn’t undisputed. Virgo is also thought to be Astraea or Persephone at least. These two are also represented by asteroids. So Virgo should represent more abstract ideas. Erigone is an asteroid of the cause-of-death theme. Erigone represents the end of an incarnation by suicide because of grief. Thus she resembles Crespodasilva. How and why Lucy d’Escoffier Crespo da Silva killed herself is mysterious. So Crespodasilva represents this cause of death in a more general manner than Erigone, who has a tale, which points out why and how Erigone killed herself and what consequences this suicide had. Erigone could also indicate suicides because of following a cult leader and similar incidents when considering the epidemic in Athens.