Editing Callisto (mythology) (section)

== Mythology ==
[[Image:TitianDianaCallistoEdinburgh.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Titian]]'s ''[[Diana and Callisto]]'' (1559) portrays the moment when Callisto's pregnancy is discovered.]]

As a follower of Artemis, Callisto, who [[Hesiod]] said<ref>In his lost ''Astronomy'', quoted in ''[[Catasterismi]]''.</ref> was the daughter of [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]], king of [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]],<ref>Other writers gave her a mortal genealogy as the daughter of one or the other of Lycaon's sons: Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheke]]''.</ref> took a vow to remain a virgin, as did all the nymphs of Artemis.

According to [[Hesiod]],<ref>Hesiod frag [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/348/348-h/348-h.htm#linknoteref-1402 3], in his lost ''Astronomy'', quoted in ''[[Catasterismi]]''.</ref> she was seduced by Zeus, and of the consequences that followed:

<blockquote>[Callisto] chose to occupy herself with wild-beasts in the mountains together with Artemis, and, when she was seduced by Zeus, continued some time undetected by the goddess, but afterwards, when she was already with child, was seen by her bathing and so discovered. Upon this, the goddess was enraged and changed her into a beast. Thus she became a bear and gave birth to a son called Arcas. But while she was in the mountains, she was hunted by some goat-herds and given up with her babe to Lycaon. Some while after, she thought fit to go into the forbidden precinct of Zeus, not knowing the law, and being pursued by her own son and the Arcadians, was about to be killed because of the said law; but Zeus delivered her because of her connection with him and put her among the stars, giving her the name Bear because of the misfortune which had befallen her.</blockquote>

[[File:Jupiter in the Guise of Diana Seducing Callisto by Gerrit van Honthorst.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|''Jupiter in the Guise of Diana Seducing Callisto'', [[Jacob Adriaensz Backer]], oil on canvas]]

Eratosthenes also mentions a variation in which the virginal companion of Artemis that was seduced by Zeus and eventually transformed into the constellation Ursa Minor was named [[Phoenice (mythology)|Phoenice]] instead.<ref>{{cite book | first = Robin | last = Hard | title = Constellation Myths: With Aratus's 'Phaenomena' | date = 2015 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7IMSBwAAQBAJ | isbn = 978-0-19-871698-3 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=7IMSBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 8]}}</ref>

According to [[Ovid]],<ref>Ovid. ''[[Metamorphoses (poem)|Metamorphoses]]''. Book II, Lines 405–531; Ovid narrates the myth also in ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', book II.</ref> it was [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] who took the form of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] so that he might evade his wife Juno's detection, forcing himself upon Callisto while she was separated from Diana and the other nymphs. Callisto recognized that something was wrong the moment Jupiter started giving her "non-virginal kisses", but by that point it was too late, and even though she fought him off, he overpowered her. The real Diana arrived in the scene soon after and called Callisto to her, only for the girl to run away in fear she was Jupiter, until she noticed the nymphs accompanying the goddess. Callisto's subsequent pregnancy was discovered several months later while she was bathing with Diana and her fellow nymphs. Diana became enraged when she saw that Callisto was pregnant and expelled her from the group. Callisto later gave birth to [[Arcas]]. Juno then took the opportunity to avenge her wounded pride and transformed the nymph into a bear. Sixteen years later Callisto, still a bear, encountered her son Arcas hunting in the forest. Just as Arcas was about to kill his own mother with his javelin, Jupiter averted the tragedy by placing mother and son amongst the stars as [[Ursa Major]] and [[Ursa Minor|Minor]], respectively. Juno, enraged that her attempt at revenge had been frustrated, appealed to [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]] that the two might never meet her waters, thus providing a poetic explanation for the constellations' [[circumpolar star|circumpolar]] positions in ancient times.<ref>Hard, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA40 40]</ref>

[[File:Apulian Red-Figure Chous (Shape 3) with Kallisto Turning into a Bear , about 360 BCE, Terracotta, Attributed to Near the Black Fury Group (Greek (Apulian), active early 300s BCE) 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Apulian Red-Figure Chous (Shape 3) with Kallisto Turning into a Bear, about 360 BCE, Terracotta, Attributed to Near the Black Fury Group (Greek (Apulian), active early 300s BCE), J. Paul Getty Museum]]

According to [[Fabulae|Hyginus]], the origin of the transformation of Zeus, with its [[lesbian]] overtones, was from a rendition of the tale in a comedy in a lost work by the Attic comedian [[Amphis]] where Zeus embraced Callisto as Artemis and she, after being questioned by Artemis for her pregnancy, blamed the goddess, thinking she had impregnated her; Artemis then changed her into a bear. She was caught by some Aetolians and brought to Lycaon, her father. Still a bear, she rushed with her son Arcas into a temple of Zeus as the Arcadians followed to kill them; Zeus turned mother and son into constellations.<ref>[[De astronomia|Hyginus]], ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.1.2 2.1.2].</ref> Hyginus also records a version where Hera changed Callisto for sleeping with Zeus,<ref name=":fab">Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#177 177]</ref> and Artemis later slew her while hunting, not recognizing her.<ref name=":hyg">Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.1.3 2.1.3]</ref> In another of the versions Hyginus records, it was Zeus who turned Callisto into a bear, to conceal her from Juno, who had noticed what her husband was doing. Juno then pointed Callisto to Diana, who proceeded to shoot her with her arrows.<ref name=":hyg3" />

According to the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]],<ref>''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D8%3Asection%3D2 3.8.2]</ref> Zeus forced himself on Callisto when he disguised himself as Artemis or [[Apollo]], in order to lure the sworn maiden into his embrace. Apollodorus is the only author to mention Apollo, but implies that it is not a rarity. Callisto was then turned into a bear by Zeus trying to hide her from Hera, but Hera asked Artemis to shoot the animal, and Artemis complied. Zeus then took the child, named it Arcas, and gave it to [[Maia]] to bring up in Arcadia; and Callisto he turned into a star and called it the Bear. Alternatively, Artemis killed Callisto for not protecting her virginity. [[Nonnus]] also writes that a "female paramour entered a woman's bed."<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#2.109 2.123]; [https://topostext.org/work/529#36.51 36.70]</ref>

Either Artemis "slew Kallisto with a shot of her silver bow," according to [[Homer]],<ref name=":hom">''[[Homer#Works ascribed to Homer|Homerica, The Contest of Homer and Hesiod]]'', 316 ff (trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White).</ref> in order to please [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] ([[Hera]]) as [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] and Pseudo-Apollodorus write<ref>This was the version current in Greece when Pausanias visited in the second century CE ([[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+8.3.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 8.3.6]). Pseudo-Apollodorus also supports this version.</ref> or later Arcas, the [[eponym]] of [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], nearly killed his bear-mother, when she had wandered into the [[Temenos|forbidden precinct]] of Zeus. In every case, Zeus placed them both in the sky as the [[constellation]]s Ursa Major, called ''Arktos'' ({{lang|grc|ἄρκτος}}), the Bear, by Greeks, and [[Ursa Minor]].

According to [[John Tzetzes]], Charon of [[Lampsacus]] wrote that Callisto's son Arcas had been fathered not by Zeus but rather by Apollo.<ref>[[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], [https://topostext.org/work/860#481 481] [https://archive.org/details/hin-wel-all-00000373-002/page/n103/mode/2up?view=theater (Gk text)]</ref>{{AI-generated source|date=November 2024}}

As a constellation, Ursa Major (who was also known as [[Helice (mythology)|Helice]], from an alternative origin story of the constellation)<ref>[[Aratus]], ''Phaenomena'', translation by A. W. Mair, G. R. Loeb</ref> told [[Demeter]], when the goddess asked the stars whether they knew anything about her daughter [[Persephone]]'s abduction, to ask [[Helios]] the sun god, for he knew the deeds of the day well, while the night was blameless.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/OvidFastiBkFour.php#anchor_Toc69367852 4.575]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Comparative table of versions of Callisto's story
|- bgcolor="#505050"
! rowspan="3" | Variations
! rowspan="3" | Name
! colspan="16" | Sources
|-
! rowspan="2" |''Hom.''
! rowspan="2" |''Hes.''
! rowspan="2" |''Amph.''
! rowspan="2" |''Ovid''
! colspan="4" |''Hyginus''
! rowspan="2" |''Apoll.''
! rowspan="2" |''Paus.''
! rowspan="2" |''Stat.''
! rowspan="2" |''Lib.''
! rowspan="2" |''Serv.''
! rowspan="2" |''Non.''
! colspan="2" |''Vatican Mythographers''
|-
| ''Fab.''
| ''Astr. 1.''<ref>Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.1.1 2.1.1]</ref>
| ''Astr. 2.''<ref name=":hyg" />
| ''Astr. 3.''<ref name=":hyg3">Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.1.1 2.1.4]</ref>
| ''V.M. 1''<ref>First Vatican Mythographer, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sE7WnkLLt2gC&pg=PA20 17]</ref>
| ''V.M. 2''<ref>Second Vatican Mythographer, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sE7WnkLLt2gC&pg=PA130 76]</ref>
|-
! rowspan="3" | Zeus disguised?
| No mention
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| Yes, as Artemis
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|✓<ref>[[Statius]], ''[[Thebaid (Latin poem)|Thebaid]]'' [https://archive.org/details/statiusstat01statuoft/page/528/mode/2up?view=theater 4.293]</ref>
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|✓<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on Virgil's [[Aeneid]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D1%3Acommline%3D744 1.744]</ref>
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| Yes, as Apollo
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! rowspan="3" | God who transformed Callisto
| Artemis
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| Hera
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|✓<ref name=":fab" />
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|✓<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on [[Virgil]]'s [[Georgics]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0092%3Abook%3D1%3Acommline%3D138 1.138]</ref>
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| Zeus
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|✓<ref>[[Libanius]], ''[[Progymnasmata]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=kRi-If9IAOYC&pg=PA19 12]</ref>
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! rowspan="2" | Killer of Callisto
| Arcas and/or Arcadians
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| Artemis
|✓<ref name=":hom" />
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