Constellation Myths Part 2: Why Tell Them

Callisto and Arcas

Zeus according to
Marvel Comic Books

In Part I of this blog article I wrote out the story of Callisto from Greco-Roman mythology.  Frustrated that each source I go to for constellation mythology has a different version of this story, I decided to start reading the original, or at least one of the originals.  I read three different translations of the story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  I suggest you check out Ovid’s work yourself, but I think my version does a good job of telling the story and keeping the major points intact.  If you’ve always thought Greek myths were cool, but were only familiar with the kid-friendly versions found in many books and movies, then you may have been shocked by the original.  Not only is there adult content, but it is handled in a way that a modern reader may feel is morally wrong.  You may find yourself wondering if these stories are appropriate for our children, or even for anybody.  In this, Part 2, I would like to identify the problematic parts of the story and talk about why I think these stories are worth telling.  In Part 3 I will give advice on how to retell these stories in ways that are appropriate for your audience.


Note:  When referring to the characters I will use their Greek names instead of their Roman ones, assuming these are more familiar to readers.

When looking for the inappropriate parts, Zeus is a good place to start.  Most people know that Zeus was the king of the gods and that he threw lightning bolts.  If this is all you know, you may have thought of him like a superhero of sorts, a powerful figure for us to relate to and empower our daydreams.  And maybe you even heard that Zeus slept around on his wife.  Well, “he’s a god, it’s what they do in these stories” you might have thought.  But, if you are like me, you didn’t realize that his sleeping around could actually have been the violent rape of virgins like Callisto.  This point in the story is already upsetting for the reader, but as the story continues we soon see that Callisto, the victim, feels ashamed and is blamed and abandoned by the goddess she serves.  And soon after her son is born, Callisto is met by Zeus’s wife, who pulls her to the ground by her hair while blaming her and calling her a harlot, before punishing her by transforming her body into a bear.  Callisto, who was once a devoted virgin, the favorite of Artemis, and a masterful hunter, becomes a broken victim of rape, thrown out from her community, and forced to abandon her child.  And if that isn’t enough, when she finally sees her boy again he tries to kill her.  In the end, her and her son are reunited and placed in the sky as constellations, surely a great honor, but the story is still unsettling.  Once, when I finished telling a much milder version of this story, a mother added for the benefit of the child, “So it had a happy ending.”  I’m not sure why she felt her child needed it to have a happy ending, but I got the impression that she didn’t like the one it had.  We may be accustomed to our stories, especially children’s stories, to always finish with a happy ending, but the ancient Greeks apparently did not.  Of course not every classical myth is as disturbing as this one, but most have something many would deem inappropriate for children or against the values of our society.   For instance, other stories may include child abduction, pedophilia, bad morals, and violence on a level we are unaccustomed to.  But before I convince you (and myself) that Greco-Roman myths should be banned from our culture, let’s take a look at four reasons why they probably haven’t yet and probably never will.

pppst.com has free powerpoint lectures
on Roman Architecture

1. They are important.  Greco-Roman myths and the cultures that inspired them are the bedrock of Western culture.   If Western culture is part of your life (and I bet it is), then these myths are also a part of your life.  History is a powerful subject.  I still remember taking my first college history course (Dr. Mitchell you rock!) and just being amazed.  I always thought history was interesting, but this class showed more than that.  It started to show me the layers, the meanings and reasons why things are the way they are, how they got that way, and even why we think the way we do.  I was so impressed that I ended up minoring in Medieval/Renaissance studies.  Learning about your culture’s history isn’t just for the historically curious, but also helps one better understand and navigate their culture, while also fostering a sense of national identity.  Greek and Roman culture, including their myths, have had an enormous impact on our culture.  Everything from politics, architecture, engineering, philosophy, science, art, and religion have been influenced in a profound way by this culture.  Learning or retelling the story of Callisto may not help you pass an American citizenship test, but it is part of our culture’s history.

Percy Jackson
Popular story based on
Greco-Roman myth

2.       People like them.  Actually, let me correct that.  People love them.  People of all ages.  They love the fantastical elements of gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, and magical creatures.  The stories of romantic rescues and heartbreak are popular, too.  Many can’t resist the gory violent details of battles, deaths, and godly punishments.  Even disturbing moments, like those from Callisto’s story are still relatable.   We feel for her character and the injustice done to her, and know that many in modern societies still face similar attacks and accusations.  Most of the Greek myths we know were first told some 3,000 years ago, and yet they are still relevant.  They are emotionally powerful and inspiring to us even today. 

3.       You can skip the offensive/inappropriate parts.  There are so many modern retellings that one doesn’t need to be exposed to the inappropriate elements.  If you don’t like reading about Zeus raping someone, and you don’t want your child reading about this either, then find a version without it.  Or retell it.  Or skip that story.

4.       They are great for teaching.  Greek myths are a great resource for teachers.  Because of the influence of classical myth and culture, and because these myths are so popular with children and adolescents, they can be used in any number of ways by an educator.  A quick search online will bring up all kinds of ideas for using classical myths in the classroom.  As a planetarian (professional planetarium educator) I use myths in relation to the constellations.  I enjoy talking about stellar evolution, space exploration, and galaxies (I really do), but for me the highlight of a planetarium show is the stars and constellations.  I confess that I don’t tell “star stories” in every show, but most of the time I do.  And what I’ve learned is that people really enjoy it.  Once, while spending the day giving lessons on ancient astronomy and myth for 7^th graders at a local school, I was amazed to see many of the students give up their normal lunch period to come back into classroom to hear more stories.  When we look up at the stars on a dark night we really are awestruck.  Soon our intellect, emotions, spirituality, and curiosity kick in as we wonder about the nature of the universe.  We think about our own beliefs and wonder about the beliefs of others through the ages.  One of my favorite styles of planetarium shows happens when we have overnight camps at the museum.  After an evening of hands-on science activities and just before bed, we bring the campers into the planetarium.  These are usually kids around 10 years old.  Instead of putting on the computer projectors and giving a slide show on the constellations, I just turn the lights down, tell stories, and point out the constellations with a laser pointer.  Sure, the campers may have thought the constellations were interesting themselves, but the addition of stories makes them real.

Constellation Myths Part1: The Adult Version

How to use the Big Dipper to find the Little Dipper
and the North Star.  I made this using Photoshop.

From what I can tell, the Big and Little Dippers seem to be the most widely known and recognized constellations.  When I ask audiences at the planetarium what constellations they think they could point out at night, these two seem to be just about the only ones.  The reason for this is probably three fold.  The Big Dipper is really bright and easy to find, the Dippers (if you live far enough north) are visible all year round, and the star at the tip of the Little Dipper is currently our Earth's North Star.  When teaching people how to read the sky for constellations the Big Dipper is a great help.  I use it as a starting point, and as a guide to find other constellations.  In fact, you can easily use the Big Dipper to find Draco, Ursa Minor, Bootes, and Leo.

Ursa Major, the Big Bear

Strange as it might seem, the Big Dipper is not actually a constellation.  If you are using the proper terminology, the Big Dipper is an asterism, which is kind of like an unofficial constellation.  Asterisms can be made from stars from several constellations or from a few stars within a larger constellation.  In this way, the Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major, better known as the Big Bear.

Hollywood's "Clash of the Titans"
took many liberties in retelling
the ancient tale of Perseus.

I've been telling Greco-Roman myths relating to the Big and Little Dippers for a few years.  I have looked at many sources for these stories, and often been frustrated by the lack of consistency between them.  In fact, this is a problem when looking up all the constellation myths.  I've done my best to find versions that seemed most authentic, but part of the problem with the inconsistencies is from the original source material.  The ancient Greeks and Romans didn't put one comprehensive mythology book together for us to use. There are a number of ancient texts, often which contradict each other.  In fact, some of the same ancient poems even contradict themselves.  This wasn't a problem for the ancient poets, but it certainly bothers me.  The other reason for the different versions I was finding is because a lot of the current books and websites out there aren't trying to stay true to the ancient texts, as confusing as they are.  Just as movie adaptations of classical myths differ wildly from the ancient stories, so do modern books and websites.

I have determined that from now on I want the real thing.  So, to that end I've begun reading the ancient accounts.  I am starting with Ovid's Metamorphoses.  This was written around the beginning of the first century, during the time of Augustus Caesar, and is a great source of Greco-Roman mythology.  This poem is written in Latin and has been translated into English many times and in many different ways.  In order for me to better understand the source (since I don't read Latin), I'm reading three versions.  David Raeburn’s 2004 verse translations, A. E. Watts 1954 prose translation, and J.J. Howard’s 1807 verse translation.

Ursa Major, the Big Bear
Source: www.stellarium.org

Before you read my version of Ovid's Big Dipper myth, I want to remind you that this is Part I of this article.  Much of what is in this story is offensive to the modern reader and inappropriate to planetarium audiences.  After reading Ovid's tale, you may wonder why we even continue telling stories like this?  In part II of this article I will try to address these concerns.  In Part III I will give ideas about how to retell ancient Greco-Roman myth in a way that is appropriate for our culture and our audiences.

The Tale of Callisto from Ovid’s Metamorphoses as told in Book 2:

After the near destruction of heaven and Earth caused by Phaethon’s attempt to drive the sun chariot, Jove (Zeus) travels the world and heals the land.  He pays special attention to Arcadia, restoring fountains and springs, giving trees back their leaves, and sowing seeds among the plains.  While traveling through this land he catches sight of a beautiful nymph maiden.  Her name is Callisto, and she is the Goddess Diana’s (Artemis’s) most highly respected hunter.  Callisto doesn’t spend her time on womanly activities like fussing with her hair or dressing in fancy clothes.  Instead she dresses practically for her life as a hunter, and spends her time in the wild.  Her appearance is very attractive to Jove.

Jove watches as Callisto sets her bow and spear harmlessly to the side and lays down for a mid-day nap in an ancient forest.  As she is alone and unprotected, Jove thinks over what he want to do.  He knows his wife Juno will be angry if she finds out, but decides that laying with Callisto is worth the price. 

Jove uses his power to transform his appearance into that of Diana.  He approaches Callisto and asks her about where she has been hunting today.  When Callisto wakes up and sees Diana she immediately speaks of her love for the Goddess and attempts to answer her question about hunting.  Callisto cannot answer, though, because Jove starts kissing her in a manner that gives him away.  Soon Jove’s true form is known, and Callisto struggles with all her strength against him, but cannot keep him from raping her.

When Jove is finished he leaves.  Callisto, no longer a maiden, is ashamed, and makes her way back to Mt. Menelaus where Diana and her other nymphs live.  When she first sees Diana and is called by her, she is afraid that it again may be Jove, and doesn’t come to her.  Once she recognized the nymphs by her side, she realized that it is really Diana and joins her company.  But because of her shame, she no longer stands at her side.  Callisto’s actions and demeanor give away her loss of virginity to the other nymphs, but Diana does not realize what happened.  It isn’t until almost nine months later, when Diana finds out. 

Ruben's painting of Diana and Callisto

On a hot day, tired from hunting, Diana and her huntresses stop at a brook to bathe.  Callisto refuses to take her clothes off and bathe with the others, so they strip her clothes off.  She tries to cover her belly with her hands, but her pregnancy cannot be hidden.  “Begone” Diana cries, and banishes Callisto from her side.  Soon after, Callisto gives birth to a boy and names him Arcas.

Juno had learned some time before that her husband had slept with Callisto, and believed that it was Callisto who had seduced him.  She was waiting for the right moment to get her revenge and chooses it now.   Appearing before Callisto and the young child she accuses her, “So this was the crowning insult, adulterous whore.”  Juno grabs Callisto by the hair and throws her to the ground, continuing to yell.  “You had to make your wickedness public and testify to my Jove’s disgrace by having a baby.  I’ll make you pay, by destroying those lovely looks that allow you to fancy yourself and attract my husband, you shameless hussy!” (Raeburn translation, Metamorphoses Book 2)  As Callisto pleads and struggles, her body begins to transform.  Her arms grow hair and her beautiful mouth grows into long jowls and a snout.  She tries to cry out in anger toward Jove, whom she blames, but she can no longer speak.  Her body is fully transformed into a bear, though her mind is untouched.

Arcas is raised by his grandfather, Callisto’s father, Kind Lycaon, and never learns about what happened to his mother.  Callisto spends her days in fear of being killed by a hunter.  Sometimes, forgetting she is a bear, she hides from other bears and wolves in the wild. 

One day, when Arcas is fifteen years old, he travels into the woods hunting with his spear.  While he is in the woods, he is spotted by his mother.  She recognizes him and wants to go to him.  So, unaware of how her appearance will affect Arcas she makes her way lumbering toward him.  The young man, aware of the bear’s advance, is terrified.  He readies his spear to kill the beast.  Just before Arcas plunges the spear into his mother’s heart Jove stops him.  He sweeps the two of them into the sky with a magic wind and transforms them into the companion constellations of Ursa Major (Big Bear/Big Dipper), and Ursa Minor (Little Bear/Little Dipper).

These new constellations are recognized by Juno and she is furious.  Juno travels to visit the ancient Titanic gods of the sea, Oceanus and his wife Tethys.   She tells them of the new constellations and of her outrage.  She had transformed Callisto into a bear as punishment, and yet Jove placed her in the sky, part of Juno’s own kingdom.  How will anyone take her power seriously, if by trying to do bad to someone, good comes to them instead?  She likens it to Jove casting her from his bed and taking Callisto as his wife instead.  She pleads with Oceanus and Tethys to never let the seven bright stars (Big Dipper) of the Bear pollute the ocean by touching it. The Titans agree and as Juno departs their sea kingdom the story is finished.

Christmas Planetarium Shows

School is back in session, and the Museum's holiday hours and educational programming are all wrapped up.  It was a successful holiday season this year. The weather was cooperative, and we had great attendance.  I like the holidays, because it means I get to do some extra programming with the visitors.  Normally, I work with schools or other places who have hired me for some special program, but it has been a few years since I've worked regularly with the general public.  It is important to work with students, but part of our mission at the Museum is to reach the whole community.  The opportunity to reach out to the parents, grandparents, and other visitors is a chance to get them "turned on" to science!

During this year's holiday season I worked on three educational projects.  Two were planetarium shows and one was a comical science skit about dinosaurs.  In this post I will write about the planetarium shows, and discuss the skit in a later post.

"Santa's Sky" planetarium title slide

Santa's Sky Planetarium Show:  This is a children's planetarium show that lasts for approximately 20 minutes.  The idea is to use the planetarium's star projector to show the night sky from both Syracuse, NY and the North Pole.  I teach people how to find a few of the major constellations in Syracuse, and then we use the planetarium's latitude feature, to follow the north star until it stops directly above our heads at 90 degrees.

So what is different between viewing the stars at the North Pole and Syracuse?  Well for one thing, the sun doesn't rise for half the year.  This means you can watch the stars day and night for several months at a time.  I mentioned that the north star, Polaris, is right above your head.  Since this is just about the center point above the North Pole, and the Earth is constantly rotating, it appears that Polaris stays right above your head while all the other stars parade in a circle around the sky.  It reminds me of a carousel.  Sure, the north star appears to stay in one spot when viewed from Syracuse, but because it looks lower in the sky from Syracuse many of the other constellations rise and set with the seasons.  Pretty cool huh?  I like to mention to the families at the show that if you learn the constellations you can use them to navigate.  And if a certain someone needed to make his way around the world, he could do it at night by following the stars.  Before I bring the lights back up and send everyone on their way, I play some relaxing music on my Native American style flute while they watch the carousel of stars above their heads.

St. Matthew from the Ebbo Gospels

The Christmas Star - This is one of the planetarium shows I'm most proud of, and most cautious about.  It is a 40 minute show, which is mostly a slide show lecture on different theories about what the Star of Bethlehem might have been.  Was it a comet, a planetary conjunction, or a supernova?  During the show I take a look through the Gospel of Matthew to review the story about the "star" and find clues about when it occurred and what it may have been.  This is my third year performing this show.  When I first researched it, I read through sources on the internet, traveled out of state to see a lecture on the topic, and read a great book that became my best source.  The book is Michael Molnar's "The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi."  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.  What makes the book so great is that Mr. Molnar did a lot of work searching through ancient sources in an attempt to understand the astrology practiced by the "wise men."  The rules to ancient astrology are more complicated than you might expect, but he is able to find a day in 6 BC when the stars align in a way that may have signaled a birth of the King of the Jews.  Before next year's shows come around again, I plan to read Courtney Robert's "The Star of the Magi: The Mystery that Heralded the Coming of Christ."  She doesn't offer an exact date like Molnar does, but apparently she makes a good case that he and other's need to be looking to ancient Zoroastrian astrology instead of Greco-Roman astrology.

Possible date of Jesus' birthday. 
I made this image using Stellarium and Photoshop.

All the research I've done has been interesting to me personally, but what I like most about the planetarium show is that it reaches out to a community that sometimes has a complicated relationship with science.  Many Christians feel threatened by science.  Some worry that science leads to a world view that doesn't include God.  Another problem is that scientific discoveries and theories disagree with a literal interpretation of parts of the Bible (Creation in 6 days, Adam & Eve, Noah's Flood).  Some people will never find a way to reconcile their beliefs with science, but I think a lot of this bad blood is unnecessary, and may come from a poor understanding of what science really is.  In performing this show, my intention is to show respect for the Bible and the story of Jesus' birth while also introducing a historical and scientifically minded approach when interpreting it.  I hope this approach makes sense to the audience, and helps them to feel a little more comfortable with science.

Michael Molnar's
"The Star of Bethlehem"

Overall this has been a very positive experience.  If you work at a planetarium, you might be considering writing this type of show for yourself.  Maybe you are wondering about the appropriateness of the topic in a science museum?  Maybe you aren't sure what the response will be.  My opinion is that as free-choice science educators it is up to us to reach into the cultures of the communities in our area and find ways to connect.  Be very clear and upfront about your intentions with your audience.  Let them know what your goal for the show is and how you intend to accomplish it.  Don't discuss your personal belief or disbelief during the show.  Let the audience make their own conclusions about the content.

If you have done any research into the Star of Bethlehem or the Magi, I would love to read about it.  Or if you've given or attended similar presentations, I would be most appreciative to hear about your experience.  You can leave your thoughts with the blog's comment option.