Mythical Bears

Callisto

Callisto (Mythology)

According to Greek mythology, Callisto was a and a follower of . Zeus developed an attraction to Callisto and turned himself into Artemis to lure Callisto. After Callisto became pregnant, she was expelled from Artemis’ hunting group. When Hera, Zeus’s wife, found out about this, she turned Callisto into a bear. As she was about to be hunted by her son, they were set among the stars as Ursa Major and Minor (“the Great Bear” and “the Little Bear” constellations) by Zeus.

 

Juno turning Callisto into a Bear  (Public Domain)

 

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A Guide to Bears Copyright © by Toronto Metropolitan University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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