Myths About the Big Dipper
The Big Dipper is an asterism, a group of stars that isn't officially a constellation. It's entirely visible only to those living in the Northern Hemisphere. The Big Dipper has seven bright stars. These stars are seen by different cultures as part of even larger constellations. Many separate cultures see the Big Dipper as part of a bear sitting in the night sky. The Big Dipper, known as The Plough in Great Britain, is part of the constellation we recognize as Ursa Major or Great Bear.
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Ancient Greeks
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There are several versions of the ancient Greek myth involving Ursa Major. The most common involves Artemis, who in the Greek pantheon of gods was a female hunter with a retinue of virgin followers, including one named Callisto. Unfortunately, Zeus forced himself upon Callisto, resulting in the birth of a son named Arcas. Zeus's wife Hera, angry at Callisto, changed her into a bear. Years later, Arcas stumbled upon Callisto in the forest. Not recognizing the bear as his mother, he prepared to shoot her with an arrow. Feeling guilty for what was about to happen, Zeus turned Arcas, too, into a bear, then threw both Callisto and Arcas into the night sky, thus creating Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
The Navaho
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Six of the Big Dipper's stars in Navaho legend are brothers killed by their sister, who is called the Changing Bear Maiden. Changing Bear Maiden wanted to marry a bear. Her father killed it, though, and the girl then changed herself into a bear. The seven brothers fled the bear, so the girl transformed back to her original form, found her brothers and killed them, whereupon they became a bear in the night sky. Other Native American cultures also saw the Big Dipper as part of a bear being hunted. These include some Eskimo cultures, the Cherokee, the Iroquois, the Blackfoot and the Coeur d'Alene of Idaho.
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Mongolia
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The myth goes that seven brothers were sent to learn about the wind. In the night, the oldest brother heard the wind singing and saw stars shining in time with the song. The brothers all joined in the listening, soon starting to dance. The brothers began rising to the stars, joining the star that had first been noticed by the older brother. This star had fallen in love with one of the brothers. In this way, the brothers became the Big Dipper and the star and her love were united.
China
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In China, a name for the Big Dipper is the Northern Basket. In ancient China, the Big Dipper's stars were related to the paradise of the immortals, and the palace of the god of longevity. Sirius was thought of as a wolf guarding the palace. Another legend refers to the four stars that make up the ladle part of the Big Dipper. These stars were the home of the god of literature. Back on Earth, a horribly ugly but brilliant literary scholar named K'uei was to be honored for a scholastic achievement. The emperor himself was to give K'uei a prize of a golden rose. Unfortunately, like everyone else who looked upon K'uei, the emperor was shocked at K'uei's uglinesss, dropping and breaking the prize. K'uei threw himself in the sea to kill himself, but a sea dragon pitied his plight, lifting him into the night sky to join the house of the god of literature.
Stone Age
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The Stone Age was a time when humans used stone tools. About 10,000 years ago and beyond, Stone Age peoples created star charts that included the Big Dipper as part of a bear that had a long tail, the tail being the handle of the Dipper. The time period includes the last Siberian crossing of the Bering Strait into North America, so it's possible that bear myths crossed, too, developing into Native American myths about the Big Dipper.
Other Cultures
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To 13th-century Persians, two stars in the Big Dipper's tail, Mizar and Alcor, were known as the Horse and Rider. Only those with great eyesight can distinguish these stars. To everyone else, they blend together. Persians used these stars as a test of eyesight. In India's Hinduism, the stars of the Big Dipper are known as the Seven Sages or Wise Men or Sapta Rishi.
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