In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Arcas (Ἀρκάς) was the son of Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

 and Callisto

Callisto (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Callisto or Kallisto was a nymph of Artemis. Transformed into a bear and set among the stars, she was the bear-mother of the Arcadians, through her son Arcas.-Origin of the myth:...

. Callisto was a nymph in the retinue of the goddess Artemis

Artemis

Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...

. Zeus, being a flirtatious god, wanted Callisto for a lover. As she would not be with anyone but Artemis, Zeus cunningly disguised himself as Artemis and seduced Callisto. The child resulting from their union was called Arcas.

Hera

Hera

Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...

 became jealous, and in anger, transformed Callisto into a bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...

. She would have done the same or worse to her son, had Zeus not hidden Arcas in an area of Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 that would come to be called Arcadia

Arcadia

Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...

, in his honor. There Arcas safely lived until one day, during one of the court feasts held by king Lycaon

Lycaon (mythology)

For the Trojan Lycaon, see Lycaon .Lycaon was a king of Arcadia, son of Pelasgus and Meliboea, who in the most popular version of the myth tested Zeus and as a punishment was transformed into the form of a wolf.-Versions of the myth:...

 (Arcas' maternal grandfather), Arcas was placed upon the burning altar as a sacrifice to the gods. He then said to Zeus "If you think that you are so clever, make your son whole and un-harmed." At this Zeus became enraged. He made Arcas whole and then directed his anger toward Lycaon, turning him into the first werewolf

Werewolf

A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...

.

After this occurrence, Arcas became the new king of Arcadia, and the country's greatest hunter. One day when Arcas went hunting in the woods, he came across his mother. Seeing her son after so long, she went forth to embrace him. Not knowing that the bear was his mother, he went to kill her with an arrow

Arrow

An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...

. Zeus, taking pity upon the two, decided to avert the tragedy and put them both up in the heavens, and their constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

s are now referred to as Ursa Major

Ursa Major

Ursa Major , also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can best be seen in April...

 and Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor , also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the northern sky. Like the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, whence the name Little Dipper...

, the big and little bears. When Hera heard of this, she became so angry that she asked Tethys

Tethys (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Tethys , daughter of Uranus and Gaia was an archaic Titaness and aquatic sea goddess, invoked in classical Greek poetry but not venerated in cult. Tethys was both sister and wife of Oceanus...

 to keep them in a certain place, so that the constellations would never sink below the horizon and receive water.

Arcas was remembered for having taught people the art of weaving and baking bread. He was married to either Laodamia

Laodamia

In Greek mythology, the name Laodamia referred to:* Laodamia or Deidamia, daughter of Bellerophon and Philonoe, sister of Hippolochus and Isander and the mother of Sarpedon by Zeus. She was shot by Artemis one day when she was weaving...

 (Leaneira), daughter of Amyclas

Amyclas

In Greek mythology, Amyclas refers to three individuals:*Amyclas was the son of Lacedemon and Sparta, and he was the brother of Eurydice . According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, he was the father of Hyacinth and Cynortas; according to Pausanias, he was also the father of Laodamia or Leaneira, wife of...

, or Meganeira, daughter of Croco, or the nymph Chrysopeleia

Chrysopeleia (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Chrysopeleia was a Hamadryad nymph. The most prolonged account of her is given in John Tzetzes' scholia on Lycophron.The tree in which Chrysopeleia dwelt was put in danger by the waters of a flooding river. She was rescued by Arcas, who happened to be hunting in the...

, or the Dryad

Dryad

Dryads are tree nymphs in Greek mythology. In Greek drys signifies 'oak,' from an Indo-European root *derew- 'tree' or 'wood'. Thus Dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general...

 Erato

Erato (dryad)

In Greek mythology, Erato is a dryad. A priestess and prophetess of the god Pan, verses were attributed to her at an ancient oracle of the god, located at Megalopolis near Acacesium. She was married to Arcas, the son of Zeus and Callisto, and bore him three sons, Azan, Apheidas, and Elatus....

, and left a number of children, including Apheidas

Apheidas

In Greek mythology, the name Apheidas may refer to:*Son of Arcas by either Erato, Leaneira, Meganeira or the nymph Chrysopeleia, brother of Elatus, Azan and others. After his father's death he became king of Tegea. His children were Aleus and Stheneboea.*Son of Polypemon, from Alybas...

, Elatus

Elatus

There were eight figures named Elatus or Élatos in Greek mythology.* Elatus, a Lapith chieftain, was the father, by Hippeia, of:**Ischys who was beloved by Coronis...

, Azan

Azan (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Azan was the son of Arcas and the Dryad Erato, brother of Apheidas, Elatus and Hyperippe. Azania in Arcadia was named after him. He married Hippolyte, daughter of Dexamenus, and had a son Cleitor. When Azan died, the first funeral games in history were held in his honor. It was...

 and Triphylus, also an illegitimate son Autolaus and at least two daughters, Hyperippe and Diomeneia.

In popular culture

Arcas is referenced in the album The Circus by The Venetia Fair. Arcas is one of the two bears.