The Ancient Story Behind the Big Dipper

The next time you look at The Big Dipper, you just might find yourself realizing that you are looking at the same star as your ancestors. What we know as the Big Dipper is just the most vibrant parts of the a well-known constellation named Ursa Major.

The Big Dipper inside Ursa Major

Ursa Major is a constellation tat lies in the northern sky. Its name means “The Great Bear,” or “The Larger Bear,” in Latin. Throughout history there have been many stories and myths in relation to The Ursa Major Constellation. However, the one it is named after is the story of heart break, revenge, and eternity.

The Big Dipper = Ursa Major = The Great Bear

A story from the ancients

The tale from Ancient Greece is very entertaining and even entrancing. Ancient Greece associated the Ursa Major constellation with the myth of Callisto. Callisto is a beautiful nymph who had sworn a vow of chastity to the goddess Artemis.

Later, she had broken her vow once Zeus saw her, and immediately fell in love. Later, the two had a son, and named him Arcas. Once Artemis heard about the pregnancy, he banished Callisto. However, Callisto wasn't the only one who had broken a vow. Zeus’s jealous wife, Hera, was not amused by her husband’s philandering. With a broken heart, she became cold and vindictive.

In order to get her revenge against Zeus’s betrayal, she turned Callisto into a bear. Callisto lived as a bear for the next 15 years, roaming the forest and always running and hiding from hunters. One day, her son, Arcas, was walking in the forest, and the two came face to face. Arcas didn't recognize his mother, and quickly drew his spear, scared.

Many years later, both Callisto and Arcas got captured in the forest, and were taken to King Lycaon as a gift. The mother and son took refuge in the Temple of Zeus, where trespassing is punishable by death, but the god intervened and saved them, placing them both in the sky.

Seeing the scene from Olympus, Zeus intervened to prevent disaster. He sent a whirlwind that carried both Callisto and Arcas into the heavens in order to protect them. Zeus turned Arcas into the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Bear) and Callisto into Ursa Major (Big Bear).

Two decades later, Hera was still infuriated that Zeus had protected Callisto and managed to hurt her one more time. Hera persuaded her foster parents, Oceanus and Tethys, to never let the bear bathe in the northern waters. According to the legend, this is why Ursa Major never sets below the horizon in mid-northern latitudes.

Ursa Major

Now when I look at this constellation, I see a sad mother bear.

Hello. Nice to meet you! How are you? Hmm... This feels like a really one-sided conversation. Why don't you follow me on social media, so I can get to know you too!

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Works Cited

“Constellation Guide.” Constellation Guide, www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/ursa-major-constellation/.

“The Ursa Major Moving Cluster - A New Way To See The Big Dipper.” Astro Bob, 29 Apr. 2019, astrobob.areavoices.com/2019/04/29/the-ursa-major-moving-cluster-a-new-way-to-see-the-big-dipper/.