Editing Callisto (mythology)

{{Short description|Nymph in Greek mythology}}
{{Distinguish|Calypso (mythology){{!}}Calypso|Calliste}}
[[File:Wall painting - Artemis and Kallisto - Pompeii (VII 12 26) - Napoli MAN 111441.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Artemis]] (seated and wearing a radiate crown), the beautiful nymph Callisto (left), [[Eros]] and other nymphs. Antique fresco from Pompeii.]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Callisto''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|ɪ|s|t|oʊ}}; {{langx|grc|Καλλιστώ|Kallistṓ|most beautiful}} {{IPA|grc|kallistɔ̌ː}}) was a [[nymph]], or the daughter of King [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]]; the myth varies in such details. She was believed to be one of the followers of [[Artemis]] ([[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] for the Romans) who attracted [[Zeus]]. Many versions of Callisto's story survive. According to some writers, Zeus transformed himself into the figure of Artemis to pursue Callisto, and she slept with him believing Zeus to be Artemis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CALLISTO (Kallisto) - Arcadian Princess of Greek Mythology |url=https://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Kallisto.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>

She became pregnant and when this was eventually discovered, she was expelled from Artemis's group, after which a furious [[Hera]], the wife of Zeus, transformed her into a [[Bears in antiquity|bear]], although in some versions, Artemis is the one to give her an ursine form. Later, just as she was about to be killed by her son when he was hunting, she was [[Catasterismi|set among the stars]] as [[Ursa Major]] ("the Great Bear") by Zeus. She was the bear-mother of the [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]ns, through her son [[Arcas]] by Zeus.<ref>[[Fabulae|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' 155</ref>

In other accounts, the birth mother of Arcas was called [[Megisto (mythology)|Megisto]], daughter of [[Ceteus]], son of [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]],<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], {{lang|la|[[De astronomia]]}} [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.1.6 2.1.6], and [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.6.2 2.6.2], with [[Ariaethus of Tegea|Araethus of Tegea]] as authority</ref> or else [[Themisto (mythology)|Themisto]], daughter of [[Inachus]].<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] ad [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [[iarchive:commentariiadho01eust/page/242/mode/1up|p. 300]]; [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v.  ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#A119.18 Arcadia (Ἀρκαδία)];'' [[Clementine literature|Pseudo-Clement]], ''Recognitions'' 10.21</ref>

The [[Callisto (moon)|fourth Galilean moon of Jupiter]] and a [[204 Kallisto|main belt asteroid]] are named after Callisto.<ref>{{cite web|title=Satellites of Jupiter|publisher=The Galileo Project|url=http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/observations/jupiter_satellites.html|access-date=31 July 2007|archive-date=11 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211140650/http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/observations/jupiter_satellites.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== 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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|✓
|✓
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|✓<ref>[[Statius]], ''[[Thebaid (Latin poem)|Thebaid]]'' [https://archive.org/details/statiusstat01statuoft/page/528/mode/2up?view=theater 4.293]</ref>
|
|✓<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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|✓
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| Hera
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|✓
|✓<ref name=":fab" />
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|✓
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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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|✓
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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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|✓
|✓
|✓
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|✓
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| Artemis
|✓<ref name=":hom" />
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|✓
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|}

== Origin of the myth ==
[[File:François Boucher - La Nymphe Callisto, séduite par Jupiter sous les traits de Diane (1759).jpg|thumb|350px|In ''[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and Callisto'' by [[François Boucher]], [[Zeus]]/[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] takes the form of [[Artemis]]/[[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] ([[Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art]], [[Kansas City]])]]

The name ''Kalliste'' ({{lang|grc|Καλλίστη}}), "most beautiful", may be recognized as an [[epithet]] of the goddess herself, though none of the inscriptions at Athens that record priests of ''Artemis Kalliste'' ({{lang|grc|Ἄρτεμις Καλλίστη}}), date before the third century BCE.<ref>Daniel J. Geagan. "The Athenian Constitution After Sulla" (''Hesperia Supplements'' '''12''' 1967:72, 95).</ref> Artemis Kalliste was worshiped in Athens in a shrine which lay outside the Dipylon gate, by the side of the road to the [[Platonic Academy|Academy]].<ref>''Klio: Beiträge Zur Alten Geschichte'' (Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften Zu Berlin Institut für Griechisch-Römische Altertumskunde) 1907.</ref> W. S. Ferguson suggested<ref>In ''Klio'' '''7''' (1907:213f).</ref> that Artemis Soteira and Artemis Kalliste were joined in a common cult administered by a single priest. The bearlike character of Artemis herself was a feature of the [[Brauronia]]. It has been suggested that the myths of Artemis' nymphs breaking their vows were originally about Artemis herself, before her characterization shifted to that of a sworn virgin who fiercely defends her chastity.<ref>{{cite book | author = Merriam-Webster, Inc. | title = Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature | date = 1995 | publisher = Merriam-Webster | isbn = 9780877790426 | page =[https://books.google.com/books?id=eKNK1YwHcQ4C&pg=PA74 74]}}</ref>

[[File:Diana y Calisto, por Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|''Jupiter seduces Callisto'', [[Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre]], ca. 1745-1749]]

The myth in ''[[Catasterismi]]'' may be derived from the fact that a set of constellations appear close together in the sky, in and near the [[Zodiac]] sign of [[Libra (astrology)|Libra]], namely Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, [[Boötes]], and [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]]. The [[Boötes|constellation Boötes]], was explicitly identified in the Hesiodic ''Astronomia'' ({{lang|grc|Ἀστρονομία}})<ref>Hesiod, ''Astronomia'', fragment 3, preserved as a quote in a commentary on [[Aratus]].</ref> as Arcas, the "Bear-warden" (''Arktophylax''; {{lang|grc|Ἀρκτοφύλαξ}}):<ref>Thus Hesiod is quoted, though Boötes, {{lang|grc|Βοώτης}}, from his very name, is a ''cow'' ({{lang|grc|βοως}}) herdsman.</ref> He is Arkas the son of Kallisto and Zeus, and he lived in the country about Lykaion. After Zeus had seduced Kallisto, Lykaon, pretending not to know of the matter, entertained Zeus, as Hesiod says, and set before him on the table the babe [Arkas] which he had cut up.<ref>The episode is a doublet of the serving up of [[Pelops]].</ref>

The stars of Ursa Major were all circumpolar in Athens of 400 BCE, and all but the stars in the Great Bear's left foot were circumpolar in Ovid's Rome, in the first century CE. Now, however, due to the [[precession of the equinoxes]], the feet of the Great Bear constellation do sink below the horizon from Rome and especially from Athens; however, Ursa Minor (Arcas) does remain completely above the horizon, even from latitudes as far south as Honolulu and Hong Kong.

According to Julien d'Huy, who used phylogenetic and statistical tools, the story could be a recent transformation of a Palaeolithic myth.<ref>d'Huy Julien, Un ours dans les étoiles: recherche phylogénétique Sur un mythe préhistorique. Préhistoire du sud-ouest, 20 (1), 2012: 91-106 [https://www.academia.edu/3226058/Un_ours_dans_les_etoiles_recherche_phylogenetique_sur_un_mythe_prehistorique._-_Prehistoire_du_sud-ouest_20_1_2012_91-106]; A Cosmic Hunt in the Berber sky : a phylogenetic reconstruction of Palaeolithic mythology. Les Cahiers de l'AARS, 15, 2013: 93-106 [https://www.academia.edu/3045718/A_Cosmic_Hunt_in_the_Berber_sky_a_phylogenetic_reconstruction_of_Palaeolithic_mythology._-_Les_Cahiers_de_lAARS_15_2013_93-106].</ref>

==In art==
[[File:Jupiter and Callisto dli 165005559 r cor.tif|left|thumb|A. Duvivier after [[François Boucher]], "Jupiter and Callisto," 19th century, engraving and etching]]

Callisto's story was sometimes depicted in [[classical art]], where the moment of transformation into a bear was the most popular. From the Renaissance on a series of major [[history painting]]s as well as many smaller [[cabinet painting]]s and book illustrations, usually called "Diana and Callisto", depicted the traumatic moment of discovery of the pregnancy, as the goddess and her nymphs bathed in a pool, following [[Ovid]]'s account.  The subject's attraction was undoubtedly mainly the opportunity it offered for a group of several females to be shown largely nude.<ref>There is a good but by no means complete, selection at [http://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/subcats.php?cat_1=5&cat_2=244&cat_3=2345&cat_4=3995 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database, Myths → Callisto's pregnancy discovered by Diana]; more on Wikimedia Commons</ref>

[[File:Karel Philips Spierincks - Jupiter and Callisto.jpg|thumb|right|330px|''Jupiter and Callisto'' by [[Karel Philips Spierincks]]. In the background Jupiter's jealous wife Juno is dragging Callisto by the hair.]]

[[Titian]]'s ''[[Diana and Callisto]]'' (1556–1559), was the greatest (though not the first) of these, quickly disseminated by a print by [[Cornelius Cort]].<ref>Brigstocke, 184</ref>  Here, as in most subsequent depictions, Diana points angrily, as Callisto is held by two nymphs, who may be pulling off what little clothing remains on her.  Other versions include [[Diana and Callisto (Rubens)|one by Rubens]], and ''[[Diana Bathing with her Nymphs with Actaeon and Callisto]]'' by [[Rembrandt]], which unusually combines the moment with the arrival of [[Actaeon]].<ref name="Hall, Gods">Hall, Gods</ref>  The basic composition is rather unusually consistent.  [[Carlo Ridolfi]] said there was a version by [[Giorgione]], who died in 1510, though his many attributions to Giorgione of paintings that are now lost are treated with suspicion by scholars.<ref>Jane Martineau (ed), ''The Genius of Venice, 1500–1600'', 207, 1983, Royal Academy of Arts, London</ref>  Other, less dramatic, treatments before Titian established his composition are by [[Palma Vecchio]] and [[Dosso Dossi]].  [[Annibale Carracci]]'s ''[[The Loves of the Gods]]'' includes an image of Juno urging Diana to shoot Callisto in ursine form.

Although Ovid places the discovery in the ninth month of Callisto's pregnancy, in paintings she is generally shown with a rather modest bump for late pregnancy.  With the ''[[Visitation (Christianity)|Visitation]]'' in religious art, this was the leading recurring subject in history painting that required showing [[pregnancy in art]], which [[Early Modern]] painters still approached with some caution.  In any case, the narrative required that the rest of the group had not previously noticed the pregnancy.
Callisto being seduced by Zeus/Jupiter in disguise was also a popular subject, usually called "Jupiter and Callisto"; it was the clearest common subject with lesbian lovers from classical mythology.  The two lovers are usually shown happily embracing in a bower. The violence described by Ovid as following Callisto's realization of what is going on is rarely shown.  In versions before about 1700 Callisto may show some doubt about what is going on, as in the versions by Rubens. It was especially popular in the 18th century, when depictions were increasingly erotic; [[François Boucher]] painted several versions.<ref name="Hall, Gods"/>

During the [[Nazi occupation of france|Nazi occupation of France]], resistance poet [[Robert Desnos]] wrote a collection of poems entitled ''Calixto suivi de contrée,'' where he used the myth of Callisto as a symbol for beauty imprisoned beneath ugliness: a metaphor for France under the German occupation.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Desnos|first=Robert|title=Calixto suivi de contrée|year=2013|translator-last=Sanders|translator-first=Todd|orig-year=1962}}</ref>

[[Aeschylus]]' tragedy ''Callisto'' is lost. However, Callisto rejoined the dramatic tradition in the [[Baroque period]] when [[Francesco Cavalli]] composed [[La Calisto]] in 1651.

== Genealogy ==
{{Chart top|Genealogy|background=#F0FFFF}}
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{{chart/start}}
{{chart| | | | | | |ZEU|y|NIO| | |OCE|y|TET| |OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|NIO=[[Niobe]]|
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 }}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | |`|.| | | | | |,|-|'}}
{{chart| | | | |ARC|-|PEL|~|y|~|MEL| |PEL=[[Pelasgus]]|MEL=[[Meliboea]]|ARC=[[Arcas]]|
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{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | }}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | |LYC|y|NON| |LYC=[[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]]|NON=Nonakris<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D3%3Asection%3D6 8.3.6], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D17%3Asection%3D6 8.17.6]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 2.409 ff.</ref>|
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{{chart| | | | | | | | || |!| | |`|-|.| | }}
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== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed-hover" class="center" heights="165" caption="Callisto in Art">
File:Peter Paul Rubens - Diana and Callisto - WGA20326.jpg|[[Diana and Callisto (Rubens)|''Diana and Callisto'']] commissioned from the artist by [[Philip IV of Spain]]
File:Arcas Preparing to Kill His Mother - etching - 17.5 x 25.5 cm - Washington DC, NGA.jpg|''Arcas about to kill his mother'', engraving by [[Hendrik Goltzius]], 16th-17th century.
File:Ovide - Métamorphoses - I -Callisto chassée de la suite de Diane.jpg|Callisto discovered by Diana, engraving by [[Noël Le Mire]].
File:Illustration by Johan Teyler, digitally enhanced by rawpixel-com 95.jpg|Illustration of Zeus as Artemis with Callisto, ohan Teyler (1648–1709).
File:Jacobus Kellner - Diana and Callisto - O 5460 - Slovak National Gallery.jpg|''Diana and Callisto'', relief by [[Jakob Kellner]], 1763.
File:Anthonie Blocklandt van Montfoort - Diana Discovering Callisto’s Pregnancy.jpg|''Diana and Callisto'', [[Anthonie Blocklandt van Montfoort]], c. 1580.
File:Jollain Diane et Callisto.jpg|''Diane et Callisto'', by [[Nicolas-René Jollain]], 1770, oil on canvas.
File:Amigoni, Jacopo (1675 - 1752), Giove e Callisto -ca. 1740-1750-.jpg|''Giove e Callisto'', by [[Jacopo Amigoni]], circa 1740–1750, oil on canvas.
File:Diana and Callisto LACMA 60.67.1.jpg|Callisto's pregnancy discovered, engraving by Jan Pietersz, 1599.
File:Diana and Callisto LACMA AC1992.225.3.jpg|Artemis, Callisto and the nymphs, ivory relief by Ignaz Elhafen, circa 1690–1695.
File:Jean-Simon Berthélemy - Jupiter, in the Guise of Diana, and Callisto.jpg|Jupiter in the guise of Diana and Callisto, by [[Jean-Simon Berthélemy]], nineteenth century, oil on canvas.
File:Jupiter and Callisto (Charles-Joseph Natoire) - Nationalmuseum - 17861.tif|''Jupiter and Callisto'', by [[Charles-Joseph Natoire]], 1745, in the National Museum of Stockholm.
File:Parc de Versailles, Bosquet des Dômes, Nymphe de Diane, Anselme Flamen 01.jpg|''Callisto'', by [[Anselme Flamen]], 1696, Versailles.
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{portal|Ancient Greece|Ancient Rome|Mythology}}

* [[Baucis and Philemon]]
* [[Lilaeus (mythology)|Lilaeus]]
* [[Rhodopis and Euthynicus]]
* [[Syceus]]
* [[Titanis (mythology)|Titanis]]
* [[Artio]], a Celtic bear goddess, associated by the Romans with Artemis and Callisto

== Notes ==
{{reflist|25em}}

== References ==
*Brigstocke, Hugh; Italian and Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland, 2nd Edn, 1993, National Galleries of Scotland, {{ISBN|0903598221}}
*"Gods": Aghion I., Barbillon C., Lissarrague, F., "Callisto", in ''Gods and Heroes of Classical Antiquity'', Flammarion Iconographic Guides, pp.&nbsp;77–78, 1996, {{ISBN|2080135805}}
*Hall, James, "Diana: 5", in ''Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art'', pp.&nbsp;102–103, 1996 (2nd edn.), John Murray, {{ISBN|0719541476}}
* [[Maurus Servius Honoratus]]. ''In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen''. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881.

==Further reading==
*Pseudo-Apollodorus. ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheke]]'' III.8.2.
*[[De astronomia|Hyginus]], attrib., ''[[Poeticon astronomicon]]'', II.1: the Great Bear.
*[[Scholia]] to [[Lycophron|Lycophron's]] ''Alexandra'', marginal notes by Isaak and Ioannis Tzetzes and others from the Greek edition of Eduard Scheer (Weidmann 1881). [https://topostext.org/work/860 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]. [[iarchive:lycophronisalexa02lycouoft/page/n5/mode/2up|Greek text available on Archive.org]]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Callisto (mythology)}}
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext95/homer10.txt Hesiod, ''Astronomy'', quoted by the Pseudo-Eratosthenes, ''Catasterismi'']: e-text (English)
* [http://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Kallisto.html Theoi Project – Kallisto]
* Richard Wilson's [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picture-of-month/displaypicture.asp?venue=7&id=130 'Landscape with Diana and Callisto'] at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20040401102820/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/index.asp Lady Lever Art Gallery]
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000236 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database] (ca 220 images of Callisto)

{{Metamorphoses in Greek mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Callisto (mythology)| ]]
[[Category:Nymphs]]
[[Category:Mythological rape victims]]
[[Category:Mythological bears]]
[[Category:Mortal women of Zeus]]
[[Category:Princesses in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses into animals in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Arcadian mythology]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Deeds of Artemis]]
[[Category:LGBTQ themes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Greek feminine given names]]
[[Category:Epithets of Artemis]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]
[[Category:Retinue of Artemis]]
[[Category:Ursa Major]]