Almost every famous constellation has a mythological theory of how it came to be. For the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the theory contains a few of the Greek mythological gods. For Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, there are three popular theories of creation.

The Creation of Ursa Major/Minor: Theory ONE

One day the goddess Callisto found herself confronting a young hunter whom she quickly recognized as her son Arcas. She raised upon her feet to greet him but Arcas, thinking she was a bear, revealed his spear and prepared to kill her. Meanwhile, Zeus was watching this scene from Mount Olympus and he turned Arcas and his mother into bears. Grabbing them both by the tail, Zeus pulled them high into the sky where Callisto is Ursa Major and Arcas is Ursa Minor. The tail of Arcas is the longest because it is constantly being rotated on the axis of Polaris.

After the occurrence of this event, Zeus' wife Hera became furious that her husband had given Callisto and her son an honored place in heaven. Hera visited her friend the ocean god to ask that Callisto and Arcas be permanently pinned in their position so they cannot wander anywhere else across the sky. The ocean god granted her request and forbade the two to ever set below the horizon. Still today Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are always high in the sky with Polaris and do not stoop below the horizon.

The Creation of Ursa Major/Minor: Theory TWO

 Callisto was a nymph of Artemis who had made a vow to remain a virgin. The god Zeus deeply desired to have Callisto so he disquised himself as Artemis in order to lure her. Callisto became pregnant and tried to hide her pregnancy from Artemis but Artemis discovered her growing stomach while Callisto was taking a bath. Outraged, Artemis turned Callisto into a bear. Years later during a hunt, Callisto's son Arcas nearly killed his mother. Zeus, feeling a special bond with Callisto, spared her life by thrusting the both of them into the sky as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

The Creation of Ursa Major/Minor: Theory THREE

This theory begins as the same story of theory two with the exception of Artemis discovering Callisto's pregnancy. Instead Zeus' wife Hera turns Callisto into a bear out of jealousy because she claims to have never seen Callisto resist any of Zeus' advances on her. This theory also ends in the same way as the second.

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