Adidas Unisex Fleece Hoodie - Ursa, the Great Bear
The story of Ursa, the Great Bear in the sky, is ancient and layered. To ask about Ursa is to ask about a myth told in many tongues, across the fires of the Greeks, the whispering forests of the Celts and Germanic tribes, the wide sky of the Native peoples, and the dreams of shamans who journeyed not by road but by star.
Let me tell you one of the oldest stories—as the Greeks might have told it, and then we will see how the meaning runs deeper beneath the surface, like a river beneath ice.
The Greek Myth: Callisto’s Fall and Ascent
Once, in the age when gods still walked among mortals, there lived a nymph named Callisto, handmaiden of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Callisto was wild, beautiful, and free, a creature of the forests who had vowed to remain untouched by man, like her mistress. She walked barefoot through the woods, her bow strung and eyes sharp.
But Zeus, king of the gods, saw her and desired her. In the form of Artemis herself, he approached Callisto and broke her vow, leaving her with child. When Artemis discovered this betrayal, she was enraged—not just at the act, but at the broken oath. Callisto was cast out, and in her shame and sorrow, she wandered alone.
When her son, Arcas, was born, she raised him in secret. But Hera, Zeus’s wife, jealous and furious, transformed Callisto into a bear—cursed to roam the earth in animal form, her human voice silenced.
Years passed. Arcas grew into a hunter. One day, deep in the woods, he came across a bear. He did not know it was his mother. He raised his spear.
Zeus, watching from Olympus, could not bear to see this tragedy unfold. With divine force, he swept both mother and son into the sky. Callisto became Ursa Major—the Great Bear. Arcas became Ursa Minor—the Little Bear.
But Hera, still bitter, spoke to Oceanus and Tethys, the ancient gods of the sea, and forbade the bears from ever touching the ocean’s waters. And so, to this day, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor circle the North Star, never dipping below the horizon.
The story of Ursa, the Great Bear in the sky, is ancient and layered. To ask about Ursa is to ask about a myth told in many tongues, across the fires of the Greeks, the whispering forests of the Celts and Germanic tribes, the wide sky of the Native peoples, and the dreams of shamans who journeyed not by road but by star.
Let me tell you one of the oldest stories—as the Greeks might have told it, and then we will see how the meaning runs deeper beneath the surface, like a river beneath ice.
The Greek Myth: Callisto’s Fall and Ascent
Once, in the age when gods still walked among mortals, there lived a nymph named Callisto, handmaiden of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Callisto was wild, beautiful, and free, a creature of the forests who had vowed to remain untouched by man, like her mistress. She walked barefoot through the woods, her bow strung and eyes sharp.
But Zeus, king of the gods, saw her and desired her. In the form of Artemis herself, he approached Callisto and broke her vow, leaving her with child. When Artemis discovered this betrayal, she was enraged—not just at the act, but at the broken oath. Callisto was cast out, and in her shame and sorrow, she wandered alone.
When her son, Arcas, was born, she raised him in secret. But Hera, Zeus’s wife, jealous and furious, transformed Callisto into a bear—cursed to roam the earth in animal form, her human voice silenced.
Years passed. Arcas grew into a hunter. One day, deep in the woods, he came across a bear. He did not know it was his mother. He raised his spear.
Zeus, watching from Olympus, could not bear to see this tragedy unfold. With divine force, he swept both mother and son into the sky. Callisto became Ursa Major—the Great Bear. Arcas became Ursa Minor—the Little Bear.
But Hera, still bitter, spoke to Oceanus and Tethys, the ancient gods of the sea, and forbade the bears from ever touching the ocean’s waters. And so, to this day, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor circle the North Star, never dipping below the horizon.
The story of Ursa, the Great Bear in the sky, is ancient and layered. To ask about Ursa is to ask about a myth told in many tongues, across the fires of the Greeks, the whispering forests of the Celts and Germanic tribes, the wide sky of the Native peoples, and the dreams of shamans who journeyed not by road but by star.
Let me tell you one of the oldest stories—as the Greeks might have told it, and then we will see how the meaning runs deeper beneath the surface, like a river beneath ice.
The Greek Myth: Callisto’s Fall and Ascent
Once, in the age when gods still walked among mortals, there lived a nymph named Callisto, handmaiden of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Callisto was wild, beautiful, and free, a creature of the forests who had vowed to remain untouched by man, like her mistress. She walked barefoot through the woods, her bow strung and eyes sharp.
But Zeus, king of the gods, saw her and desired her. In the form of Artemis herself, he approached Callisto and broke her vow, leaving her with child. When Artemis discovered this betrayal, she was enraged—not just at the act, but at the broken oath. Callisto was cast out, and in her shame and sorrow, she wandered alone.
When her son, Arcas, was born, she raised him in secret. But Hera, Zeus’s wife, jealous and furious, transformed Callisto into a bear—cursed to roam the earth in animal form, her human voice silenced.
Years passed. Arcas grew into a hunter. One day, deep in the woods, he came across a bear. He did not know it was his mother. He raised his spear.
Zeus, watching from Olympus, could not bear to see this tragedy unfold. With divine force, he swept both mother and son into the sky. Callisto became Ursa Major—the Great Bear. Arcas became Ursa Minor—the Little Bear.
But Hera, still bitter, spoke to Oceanus and Tethys, the ancient gods of the sea, and forbade the bears from ever touching the ocean’s waters. And so, to this day, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor circle the North Star, never dipping below the horizon.