At first she was suckled by a she-bear, and then saved by huntsmen, among whom she grew up to be skilled with the bow, swift, and fond of the chase, like the virgin goddess Artemis.
The Greeks identified this constellation with the nymph Callisto, placed in the heavens by Zeus in the form of a bear together with her son Arcas as " bear-warder," or Arcturus; they named it Arctos, the she-bear, Helice, from its turning round the pole-star.
Zeus, to conceal the amour, changed Callisto into a she-bear; Hera, however, discovered it, and persuaded Artemis to slay Callisto, who was placed amongst the stars as iiptcros (" the bear").
On the other hand, the Artemis of Arcadia, who is confused with the nymph Callisto, who, again, is said to have become a she-bear, and later a star, and the Brauronian Artemis, whose maiden ministers danced a bear-dance, are goddesses whose legend seems unnatural, .and is felt to need explanation.
His mistress from whom the Arcadians claim descent becomes a she-bear.
