Artemis and Callisto: From a Leader to an Accidental Killer
Artemis and Callisto share a leader-follower relationship. Callisto was a devoted follower of Artemis, and the goddess in turn favored her as one of her preferred hunting companions.
This good relationship between the two was broken by a selfish act by Zeus. Read on to learn more!
What Is the Story of Artemis and Callisto?
The story is that Callisto was a devoted nymph of Artemis, and swore to be pure, chaste, and never marry, like her. However, she was impregnated by Zeus, and a jealous Hera transformed her into a bear. Artemis mistook her for a regular bear and killed her during a hunt.
Artemis and Callisto Relationship
Artemis and Callisto’s relationship started as that of a leader and follower, which, in an unexpected turn of events, turned into a killer-victim relationship. In Greek mythology, we find various versions of who Callisto is; she was either a nymph or the daughter of a king; she was either a nymph or the daughter of a king. Needless to say, Artemis and Callisto are not related by blood, as Artemis is a goddess, whereas Callisto is the daughter of King Lycaon, an Arcadian king whom Zeus turned into a wolf.
The Story of Callisto and Zeus
As one of Artemis’ companions and followers, Callisto vowed to never be married. True to her name, which means “most beautiful,” Callisto’s beauty caught the attention of the supreme god, Zeus. He fell in love with her, and though he knew that Callisto swore an oath to Artemis to remain a virgin, he devised a plan to get her.
To be able to go near Callisto without raising suspicions, Zeus transformed himself into Artemis. Disguised as Artemis, Zeus approached Callisto and began kissing her. Surviving artworks depicting this exact scene can look like an Artemis and Callisto love story, but it was not. Believing it was her mistress, Callisto welcomed the passionate kisses. However, Zeus revealed himself and proceeded to rape Callisto, and then, he vanished in an instant.
Callisto’s Panic from Artemis
Callisto was left distressed as she knew that although it was not entirely her fault that she was tricked and raped, Artemis would banish her now that she was no longer a virgin. She will not be allowed to join Artemis and possibly be punished by Hera, who is known to be the vengeful wife of Zeus.
Callisto was even more devastated when she found out that she was pregnant and was worried that Artemis would soon notice her growing belly. Callisto did everything she could to hide her pregnancy from Artemis for as long as she could, but the sharp-eyed goddess noticed that something was off with Callisto. Artemis was enraged, and soon, Hera also learned of her husband’s latest plight of unfaithfulness.
Callisto as a She-Bear
There are several conclusions as to who among Zeus, Hera, and Artemis transformed Callisto into a she-bear. All three of them have their own motivations: Zeus would do it to protect Callisto from Hera, Hera would do it to punish Callisto for sleeping with Zeus, and Artemis would do it to punish her for breaking her vow of chastity. Either way, Callisto was transformed into a mother bear and began living in the woods as one.
Unfortunately, on one of Artemis’ hunting expeditions, she came across Callisto, who is now a bear, but the goddess did not recognize her. In a tragic turn of events, Artemis killed Callisto, thinking that it was just another regular bear.
Upon learning that Callisto was killed, Zeus intervened and rescued their unborn child, who was named Arcas. Zeus then took Callisto’s body and made her into a constellation as the “Great Bear” or Ursa Major, and when their son, Arcas, died, he became Ursa Minor, or the “Little Bear.”
Callisto and Her Child
Another version of how Callisto died as a bear involves her son. After Callisto was turned into a bear, Zeus rescued their son and gave him to Maia, one of the Pleiades, to be raised. Arcas grew up safely to be a fine young man until King Lycaon (his maternal grandparent) burned him on an altar as a sacrifice, mocking Zeus to show his powers and rescue his son.
Zeus turned King Lycaon into a wolf and restored the life of his son. Arcas soon became king of the land, and it was named after him, Arcadian. He was also a great hunter, and one time, while hunting, he came across his mother. Callisto, who had not seen her son for a very long time, approached Arcas and attempted to embrace him.
However, Arcas mistook it for an attack and prepared to shoot her with an arrow. However, before Arcas could kill his mother, Zeus stopped him. Instead, he turned Arcas into a bear, too. Together, Zeus placed them in the sky as the constellations we now know as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Conclusion
Artemis and Callisto shared a leader-follower relationship, with Callisto as a devoted follower. Let us recap what we have learned about them.
- Callisto was one of Artemis’ devoted followers. Like Artemis, she swore an oath to stay a virgin and remain pure. However, this was broken when she was raped and got pregnant by Zeus. She tried to hide her pregnancy, but Artemis soon found out. The goddess, along with Hera, was furious with her.
- Callisto was transformed into a she-bear by either Zeus to protect and hide her from Hera, by Artemis to punish her for breaking her vow, or by Hera to punish her for sleeping with Zeus. Callisto’s son was rescued by Zeus and was given to Maia to be raised.
- There are two versions of how Callisto died as a bear. One version was that she was killed by Artemis when the latter mistook her for a regular bear. Zeus took her body and placed her in the sky as the constellation named “Great Bear.”
- Another version is when her son, Arcas, almost killed her. Being a great hunter himself, Arcas was on a hunting trip when he came across his mother, who was a bear. Not knowing who she was, Arcas prepared to shoot her with an arrow, but Zeus stopped him.
- In both versions of the story, Zeus took Callisto and placed her in the sky along with her son. They came to be known as the constellations Great Bear and Little Bear.
The helplessness of mortals, especially women, against the gods is a common theme among stories in Greek mythology. Even if they were the ones being disrespected and dishonored, mortal women were still the ones to suffer punishment. In the cases of Artemis, Callisto, and Zeus, placing Callisto and her son in the sky as constellations was an attempt by Zeus to make up for his sin.
