Ursa Major

***Miscellaneous Myths: Ursa Major*** is the eighty-second episode of the Miscellaneous Myths series by Red. Red discusses the varying origin stories of the constellation Ursa Major.

## Introduction

Red begins the episode by talking about how many people in the Northern Hemisphere are told about the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and Ursa Minor, the Little Bear or Weaksause Bear, or their asterisms, the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, respectively. She talks about how they are big and recognizable as well as at least partially visible year-round; this is due to them being circumpolar, or within a certain proximity of Polaris, the North Star, so that they never set below the horizon. In Greece, only the paws are ever obscured.

The constellations also explain the original meaning of the word *arctic*: It defined the area of the planet where the bears never set. It is derived from the Greek word *Arktikos*, which means "of the bears." Coincidentally, the Arctic is where polar bears are found.

Red then states that there are many myths relating to Ursa Major, but the only somewhat consistent one is how it was made. In the case of the Great Bear, it's not a very happy story.

## Summary

The story begins with the hunter Callisto, daughter of King Lycaon and a devotee of Artemis. Like all of Artemis's other devotees, she enjoys spending time hunting the beasts of the wood. She catches the attention of Zeus, who decides that the forest would make good cover for another affair and zips down to Earth. He approaches a relaxing Callisto disguised as Artemis and seduces her, which Callisto may or may not have been into. Predictably, she becomes pregnant, and when Artemis finds out, she kicks Callisto out of the group for not maintaining her maidenhood. Red notes here that the story begins varying depending on who's telling it.

### Ovid's *Metamorphoses*

In Ovid's version, Callisto gives birth to a son named Arcas. Hera then seizes this opportunity to turn Callisto into a bear as punishment for the affair with Zeus. She then wanders around alone, unable to petition Zeus for help on account of being a bear. Meanwhile, Arcas grows up and gains the desire to play Minecraft. One day, he sees a bear while out hunting, and the bear, who is Callisto, doesn't attack Arcas. Unfortunately, Arcas recalls the old adage on how to deal with black bears and attacks her. Zeus notices his Consequence Level hit "Elevated" due to the matricide situation and quickly raises the two into the sky, transforming the two into the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, which spin around each other for eternity.

### Hyginus's *Astronomica*

According to Hyginus, there are some other versions of how Callisto was turned into a bear: one says that she was turned into a bear by Artemis while another says that she was turned into a bear by Zeus to hide his escapade from Hera. He also mentions how in some stories, Artemis is the one who unwittingly kills Callisto. In another version, Callisto and Arcas were captured by Arcadians and were ordered by King Lycaon to be sacrificed to Zeus for trespassing in his temple. Zeus catches wind of this and turns the two into constellations. However, this version states that Arcas was turned into the nearby constellation Boötes, which notably contains the red star Arcturus, meaning "guardian of the bear."

### Ovid's *Fasti*

In his *Fasti*, Ovid explains that the bears don't set below the horizon because Hera negotiated with the ocean Titan Tethys so that they won't be near her waters.

### Pausanias's *Descriptions of Greece*

According to Pausanias, Arcas had many achievements after his mother was turned into a bear. Notably, he becomes the king of Arcadia and introduces agriculture, weaving, and bread to the locals. It is at this point that the region is actually named Arcadia after Arcas. He also supposedly marries a dryad named Erato and has several children with her, which he believes to be better than Minecraft. His children set off many lines of Arcadian kings. In Pausanias's version, however, Arcas never turns into a constellation, and Callisto's transformation into a constellation is questioned, despite Pausanias being fine with a man birthed from a bear marrying a wood-nymph.

## Conclusion

Red concludes the episode by stating how despite some variation, some details remain consistent: Callisto is turned into a bear and later the Great Bear, and Arcas eventually dies and joins her in the stars to watch over her. However, the most consistent detail between all versions is that it's all Zeus's fault.

## Characters Appearing

* Callisto
* Arcas
* Lycaon
* Zeus
* Hera
* Artemis
* Tethys
* Erato