Miscellaneous Myths: Ursa Major

[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

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[@shadowkingdarksin3980]

seriously can we get another show or even a game about greek gods because i realy want to beat up zeus several billion times like in god of war but more repeat over over and over again 😐

[@OverthinkNight]

Back in 2017, I put Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (facing north according to iPhone 5 compass) on my ceiling in glow in the dark stars. Then I moved. Now I can sort of take a piece of that with me.

[@mantisnt1335]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? BEAR PINS??AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO SELL YOUR SOUL FOR EM??? SIGN ME UP

[@Miciggy24]

Ah Zeus, ruiner of many lives and starter of many myths in Greek Mythology

[@terra1748]

Never enough money for all the pins 😭

[@WorldWeave]

Apollo: “sooo…dad turned into you to bang one of your hunters” Artemis: “he did WHAT?!”

[@ShiraishiHolmes39]

that's a plausible reaction

[@anonymouscausewhynot]

Artemis's villain origin story right there.

[@SpMile]

Artemis: "it's all her fault, I should punish her"

[@teslaromans1023]

2:42 I love how frigging done she looks, and how she instantly puts together the equation “mysterious pregnancy + turned into an animal = Zeus”

[@ДимитърКьосев-т8е]

And the anatomy of Artemis when banging

[@eldritchcupcakes3195]

And the divine wrath of hera

[@DanGamingFan2406]

If I had a nickel for every ancient Greek myth about Zeus screwing people over in more ways than one, I'd be able to buy, and fully restore the Parthenon.

[@orianefaton1885]

And you would likely still have some left to spare.

[@garnetbird7557]

Oh, you'd have way more than that.

[@madamsamoyed5732]

It's definitely easier to list the myths that *don't* involve that.

[@jasonreed7522]

For each varient or just each myth? This scales your wealth by a couple orders of magnitude with fully restoring the Parthenon being on the lowerer end.

[@brendanb2982]

" Life was good... AND THEN ALONG CAME ZEUS "

[@timothymclean]

Callisto: "I thought you were a virgin goddess?" Definitely Artemis: "Um. No?" Callisto: "Well, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth." Odysseus: "Why would we hide in the _mouth?_ There's no room there!"

[@thebumblebeemovie3514]

🤣🤣🤣🤣that ending was perfect

[@seanmcfadden3712]

Actual Artemis : ... Why didn't a FEMALE follower of a FEMALE goddess not notice inconsistencies in terms of ANATOMY?!?! Zeus : Look, I once impregnated a chick as a golden shower. Anatomy isn't really an issue for me.

[@leeshajoi]

@@seanmcfadden3712 Zeus said trans rights

[@seanmcfadden3712]

@@leeshajoi OMG! That is such a good take!

[@geoffwatson5689]

Some fantasy "virgin" rules count lesbians as virgins, as they haven't been with a man. I've seen it with stories about unicorns and the like.

[@soysauce1701]

Imagine being Artemis and finding out your own father seduced one of your followers while disguised AS YOU. That's pretty vile.

[@Anverse-14]

Imagine being Zeus, and not giving a fuck

[@misslangleysoryuisiconic]

Artemis : haiya

[@damptruff8435]

least insane greek sexual interaction:

[@pokimanefartcompilation]

You must be new to greek mythology

[@bluesbest1]

Reminding a goddess of it is the kind of thing that'll get you turned into a spider.

[@legateelizabeth]

Callisto slept with who she thought was Artemis to the point of having a kid because it was actually Zeus… Callisto must’ve had such strong feelings of friendship for Artemis!

[@TBT707]

History will call them good friends...

[@marjae2767]

Just gals being pals.

[@manmoy4104]

either that or Zeus was just being a rapper as usual and forced himself onto Callisto

[@Harambae613]

Like Achilles and Patroclus! They’re such good friends!

[@JohnFiala]

@@Harambae613 nah nah nah nah- they’re cousins!

[@taburde]

It’s so funny that the whole ‘no bears in Antarctic’ worked out the way it did. I could totally see some early Greek hearing tale of gigantic white bears that roam the lands watched over by the heavenly beast and going “I KNEW IT!”

[@fullmoontales1749]

Pytheas went to the Artic circle. Maybe not the Artic itself, but who knows

[@AlbertaGeek]

@@fullmoontales1749 The Arctic circle is literally where the arctic starts. And depending on the geography, you will see polar bears at that point.

[@gretablackwell495]

Horoscopes are real but only for bears

[@videogollumer]

Hey, the arctic has to have ONE animal the Antarctic doesn't, since the Antarctic gets the penguins.

[@mute1085]

@@videogollumer Arctic used to have penguins as well, up to 19th century, but humans happened.

[@vowgallant4049]

I love how Arcadia is consistently the place where all the scary nature stuff happens. Just a location of primal, wild horror.

[@russergee49]

It does have a lot of mountainous geography and wooded forests, and it’s a bit of a harsh climate for agriculture, so the idea of being at the mercy of nature, with scary or mysterious things hiding easily among trees and caves, was probably keenly felt.

[@teanobeano6838]

Australia

[@StonedtotheBones13]

You know, good point. Iirc, many of the god myths originated from there. I feel like to the Greeks, they had this kind of wild but necessary connection to Arcadia. Like, they looked back on it with fascination, similar to us... But what's interesting is they seem to still include Arcadian deities, altho perhaps not as favorably as their own.

[@핑엘리]

So like... Guillermo del Toro waa right on the money with Arcadia being weird as frick

[@FuzzyStripetail]

It's unbearable that Callisto was unable to petition Zeus for her to stop being a bear simply on the account that she was a bear.

[@totallynotgad]

Im not even the barest bit surprised, its barely even top 100 most unbearably stupid thing Zeus has done

[@thedatabase677]

Ah, the bear-eaucracy of getting curses lifted, always a huge pain.

[@generalgarchomp333]

that pun was unbearable.

[@scaper12123]

Blast it all, I was gonna make this joke.

[@CaptainvonDore]

And the fact that she was abandoned by Artemis cause she had to bear a child.

[@astral_pilot]

Personally I would love an episode on Minthe, the one woman who tried to get with Hades but then was turned into mint by Persephone

[@ArakDBlade]

That would be refreshing. ...I'm not sorry

[@thedragonwarrior5861]

It would be interesting

[@QuanticDreamer]

Lore Olympus, right?

[@Boss_Isaac]

@@QuanticDreamer The Latin geographer Strabo, actually.

[@ethanstine426]

That really sounds like something a modern writer would make up but I looked it up and its seems to check out. I can at least find the ancient text this was supposed to be written in. Also the greek word for mint is pronounced kind of like Minthe.

[@billcipher4368]

"I want to be a minecraft youtubers now" "This is better than being a minecraft youtuber" Character development at its PEAK

[@ellymyths]

It's a perfect model that all authors should follow

[@A_Random_W33b]

"It's all Zeus's fault" is quite possibly the best tagline to represent the entire Greek mythos

[@pathfindersavant3988]

Artemis: "Dangit dad, not only did you seduce one of my maidens, but you shapeshifted into ME to do the deed! Why would you do this!?" Zues: "...It was Pride Month?"

[@IceQueen975]

Okay, I shouldn't have laughed that hard...

[@cartoonishidealism582]

That’s no way to talk to your transgender lesbian dad Artemis

[@redwitch12]

@@cartoonishidealism582 IMO, Zeus clearly represents the absolute worst motivation of the people taking shelter in the trans rights movement--he's simply a voracious sexual predator who will do whatever he finds necessary to gain access to his prey of choice. If getting his rocks off with his victim-of-the-week means he has to turn into a swan or a shower of gold or a woman, he'll do it just as readily as turning into a seemingly mortal man.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

@@cartoonishidealism582 And in pride month no less! For shame Artemis!

[@bossviper2833]

@@Obi-Wan_Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi? Why are you here?

[@TheAwsomeSawse]

I like the version where Zeus grabs the two bears by the tails and spins them around to launch them into space. It explains how they became constellations and why they have such long tails considering they’re bears.

[@Envy_May]

LOL

[@JumpdeArt]

Yea I was waiting for that story LOL

[@smugsneasel]

Who else sees Zeus show up in Red's stories and automatically goes "Oh goddammit..."

[@syabilaazri7834]

No kidding and what even worst is that he transform himself into one of his daugher.... i was like " oh no...Athena would never believe in that kind of story even if her follower is that loyal...."

[@billcipher4368]

"A olympian god?" "Zeus casually raping anything with two legs " "ZEUS THE OLYMPIAN GOD?!"

[@MrDalek2150]

@@billcipher4368 Bold of that paraphrased quote to assume Zeus would stop at *two* legs.

[@animalgalgamingandreviewin6280]

As soon as I saw the thumbnail I immediately knew it was going to be his fault.

[@inkedseahear]

"They're all untrue. Except the tales of my bravey, those are completely accurate, even a bit humble if I may add."

[@Kelaiah01]

I have a headcanon that Callisto was the bear who raised Atalanta. Bear-Callisto adopted the abandoned Baby Atalanta in order to gain comfort for having to give up Baby Arcas. I also headcanon that it was Artemis who turned Callisto into a bear, and the reason was so that Callisto could come back into Artemis' group: she couldn't allow non-virgins, but Artemis isn't above having a few "pets," and she doesn't care if said pets are non-virgins, haha. This means that I headcanon Artemis and Callisto as the adoptive mothers of Atalanta... who would then be transformed into a lioness along with her husband, Hippomenes, and that would for the same reason as why Callisto was transformed: so the two of them could remain in Artemis' hunting group without technically breaking the rules. Which means Artemis ends up having a pet bear and two pet lions. :D

[@clara_corvus]

I love this headcanon

[@Kelaiah01]

@@clara_corvus Aww, thank you! :D

[@thedragonwarrior5861]

This makes sense, and is fun to think about

[@Kelaiah01]

@@thedragonwarrior5861 Thank you! Glad you agree! :D

[@Kestas_X]

I think there was a way in ancient Greece to bathe in holy water and become re-virginated. Maybe they could've tried that.

[@Magicghost23]

It’s really tragic that Callisto had to bear a grizzly fate.

[@sanicgottagofast7894]

Are you proud of yourself? How can you type this and not think that people will read this with their own eyes? I can't bear the sight of this.

[@tvccreator_elysius]

This post is unbearable.

[@Kenshi_2900]

Ba dumm tsss It seems a lot of us hear have lost our... BEARings on the situation

[@eduardovillarreal8773]

Kinda polar reception here

[@Magicghost23]

@@tvccreator_elysius You could say it’s real Ursa Major pain

[@Ilikecatsismychannelname]

I can just imagine the souls of one of Zeus' many flings arriving in the underworld, making eye contact with Hades, said deity studying them thoroughly before asking "Zeus' fault?", them bitterly confirming his suspicion, and Hades sighing before apologizing for his younger sibling having ZERO self control or concept of consequences and burying his face in his hands after fling leaves his presence to massage away the headache that inevitably comes from being related to the divine frat boy.

[@inkedseahear]

Sees a well-built man: “Cause of death?” “Spear in the chest.” Sees a old person: “Cause of death?” “Old age.” Sees a frail person: “Cause of death?” “Plague.” Sees a young attractive woman who’s really grumpy: “Zeus?” “Zeus.”

[@Ilikecatsismychannelname]

@@inkedseahear Or young attractive man. Zeus don't discriminate between male and female. All that matters is if they are pretty enough to catch his eye.

[@Kelaiah01]

@@Ilikecatsismychannelname Actually, as far as we know (unless I'm mistaken), Zeus was only ever attracted to one man, and that was Ganymede. Apparently, the kid was just THAT beautiful. Plus, Ganymede was the only one of Zeus' lovers to be made immortal and brought to live on Mt. Olympus, so...

[@Ilikecatsismychannelname]

@@Kelaiah01 Just because that's the only myth that made it to the present doesn't mean it's the only myth. I am pretty sure there were more. Also I wouldn't refer to Ganymede as a man. The versions I've read made it clear he was barely a teenager which...is uncomfortable to think about. Damn it Zeus...

[@Kelaiah01]

@@Ilikecatsismychannelname Fair point. ^^ There's so much about the Greek myths we don't know about thanks to all the lost info over the millennia(s). Though I'm honestly curious, what makes you think there were other male lovers of Zeus? I'd like to hear your reasoning. :) As for Ganymede's age... yeah. I've read a few different versions myself. Some have Ganymede as arguably "age appropriate" (at least, for the time period), while others have him as younger. ^^ I prefer to think of Ganymede as 18, just to fit my own modern sensibilities, lol. And thanks to the webcomic "Lore Olympus," I like to imagine the Olympians as looking to be in their 20s or maybe early 30s, so that way Zeus and Ganymede don't look so odd together.

[@merrittanimation7721]

4:53 "People can't turn into stars but can definitely be birthed by bears, marry wood nymphs and turn into wolves. It's just logic guys" -Pausanius, presumably

[@silverjohn6037]

We live in a society that has decided people can change their sexes just by saying they have. Pot.. kettle?

[@fullmoontales1749]

To be fair, explaining why you can't teleport, but electrons can hop orbits, or any of the weirder parts of science, would sound arbitrary

[@sonofcronos7831]

Pausanias is like Hyginus. Hyginus can acept that Perseus had a invisibility cap, but he can not acept that that cap is the one from Hades himself.

[@clarehidalgo]

@@fullmoontales1749 That gosh darn Planck's constant keeping use from teleporting

[@juanjuri6127]

i like how the videogame Hades retroactively gives the myth a happy ending by making Artemis unable to shut the hell up about her cool girlfriend who can turn into a bear

[@carlosmedina1281]

Wait what

[@discountplaguedoctor88]

This I have to hear about.

[@9051team]

Ikr artemis is so adorable in that game.

[@BlueRecRoom]

What game is this a troll?

[@canislupus9208]

@@BlueRecRoomThe roguelite game “Hades”

[@jon.callaghan4165]

Red continues to gives us art we didn't know we needed but can't live without 🎉

[@Mythos998]

Yesss

[@idontknoq4813]

MORTE NECKLACE SEAL FIGHTS

[@Silverwing2112]

Why do you think I keep buying her pins?

[@15oClock]

Like a bear flipping off the heavens.

[@Add_Infinitum]

2:51 "spends the next 15 years doing normal baby stuff like pretty quickly not being a baby anymore" excellent description, I come for literary breakdowns like these

[@thedukeofchutney468]

The version I grew up hearing was that after both were turned into bears Heracles was the one who got them into the heavens by grabbing both by the tails swinging them around his head and letting them fly. This is supposed to explain why their tails are so long.

[@orianefaton1885]

... What the F, Heracles ?!

[@thedukeofchutney468]

@@orianefaton1885 Yup. Heracles.

[@matthewsimpson5529]

... I'm going to pretend this happened while Heracles was still drunk off his ass from hanging with his centaur buddies.

[@turningintoacrazydolphin1211]

You can't swing two bears without hitting a constellation

[@AnInsideJoke]

Damn. Throwing bears into the stars. Ancient Grecco-Roman beer pong went hard.

[@OleanderStarshine]

In the Netherlands there was this semi popular movie where you follow a young bear trying to get to her kidnapped mother. It starts by a telling of the bears myth around Ursa Major. It goes something along the lines of "men chased all the bears of this world to the Arctic, to protect all bears the leader gathered his strongest bears and took them to the stars. From there he led the bears to safety and now all bears live in peace, being watched over by the Ursa Major." It's pretty powerful and my favorite story around the Ursa Major

[@shika15]

It’s interesting that Artemis ends up so involved in two stories linked with Arcadia. Here she is here, and lets not forget that she sent a bear to save Atalanta (a technical Arcadian princess) as well. Bears show up in both as well

[@Boss_Isaac]

In Arkadia, Artemis was apparently especially worshipped as a goddess of the woodlands at groves and rivers, with dryads and naiads as her companions.

[@LizzianaJones]

One of the Homeric hymns actually gives a reason why it’s such an important place to her, just can’t remember what it was

[@mcv2178]

I read somewhere that since they didn't have monkeys in Europe, bears were considered the animal closest to humans, and that is why they show up in fairy tales so often.

[@inkedseahear]

@@LizzianaJones I don't think it was the Homeric hymn, The Callimachus hymns mentions she getting her hounds from Pan in Arcadia and Atalanta in Arcadia

[@LizzianaJones]

@@inkedseahear THAT WAS IT thank you!! I got them confused for a sec

[@themaskedfacade9939]

2:11 Even if it's just Zeus disguised as her, seeing a version of our aroace icon Artemis being flirty is pretty cursed.

[@WilyGryphon]

"But unfortunately, Zeus was horny." The case where he turned her into a bear to hide her from Hera is very similar to what happened to Io, and it didn't work then. (Kick Zeus in the-) When this tale was told in a Percy Jackson companion book, he made sure to step aside and tell the readers that Callisto was a victim and what happened was not her fault. Which 👌

[@krspaceT1]

Also that Artemis would have been nicer if Callisto didn't lie and hide it. Had she not hid it Artemis would have helped her land somewhere less unbearable

[@inkedseahear]

@@krspaceT1 in the Percy Jackson books?

[@krspaceT1]

@@inkedseahear correct in the companion book above mentioned

[@audiobooksforfree7857]

This is why I love rick’s books.

[@mjbull5156]

A storytelling choice of "Tell, because we cannot sure the audience is smart enough to understand the showing".

[@kadajsnightqueen]

I first heard a very different version of this myth as a kid. Upon finding out that Zeus had cheated AGAIN, Hera turned Callisto into a bear and yeeted her into the sky, intending to turn her into a pretty, furry splat beyond the horizon. But Zeus, feeling remorse for this terrible fate, changed the arc of the throw so that Callisto soared into the heavens and became a constellation instead. Years later, when Arcas found out about his mother’s fate, he prayed to join her for eternity, since he never knew her in life. So Zeus heard the prayer, made him a smaller bear, and put him in the stars too, with the unmoving North Star as his “banner” so his mother could always find him.

[@auzpayeur8229]

Callisto got turned into a bear but in the end was turned into the most famous collection of stars in the night sky call that a Constellation prize

[@MatthewCobalt]

Ba-dum-tss

[@nicoletheweirdo91421]

*slow claps out of the room*

[@metalvoiceguy1232]

​@Grima the Fell Dragon Is that joke too much for you to *bear* ?

[@marvintg2002]

I just had some minor deja-vu, red made this joke before, didn't she? Was it the Orion video?

[@auzpayeur8229]

@@marvintg2002 holy shit you’re absolutely right

[@cayzee4719]

I'm just glad that they're spinning around each other happily and that Arcas isnt still unknowingly hunting his mother across the sky

[@saltefan5925]

Guess the Greek story, hard mode: Zeus being a cheating horndog and Hera completely missing the point of who to blame and punishing everyone but Zeus for his antics

[@JustAnthon]

The answer: Yes.

[@noukan42]

I think Hera want to punish Zeus but kinda can't. There are myghs where she tried to stage a coup and failed.

[@feliperoa5821]

​@@noukan42 You're right, I kinda forgot about that one

[@kamenkuma05]

Hera is the archetypical yandere

[@timothycarney9652]

@@noukan42 I have never heard of any of that, outside of weird things like that animated Xena/Hercules crossover where Hera unleashes the titans and turns the other gods into animals... Unfortunately the major exposure I have to Hera's qualifications as a leader are 1 how she handled the lead up to the trojan war, 2 how she handled the trojan war 3 all the stories where she ruins the lives of mortals in a case of victim blaming since she can't actually punish zeus, or rather can't lash out at him directly, and 4 the time she actually favored a hero and he was JASON, who's ONE recorded bit of kindness was helping a disguised Hera, and who's heroic journey is half a greek avenger's story where he is basically baggage for all the more interesting and capable people to carry along as they solve the plot, and the second half is a demonstration of how horrible a person he is as the consequences for all the murder he either did or had done on his behalf comes back to bite him, along with doing the ONE thing that could get not only Hera to turn on him, but Zeus to support her fully. Zeus' track record as a leader isn't great when he isn't slaying monsters, and his list of abuses of power(99% sexual) makes up almost 100% of what everyone knows about him, but Hera hasn't really covered herself in glory either- To be fair noone came out of the trojan war looking good, but I would like to hear at least one story about the king and queen of the gods BEING good at that job, rather than just having all the power and either abusing it, or having to smack down other gods with their authority. Seriously, Hera does show off her authority as Queen, but basically only in the context of forcing other lesser divinities to make life harder for one of Zeus' kids or the mothers thereof.

[@dracone4370]

Bears have a lot of different roles in mythology; it's based on the cultural context. For example, in several Aboriginal American myths, the Bear is referred to as "Grandfather" due to it being a bear that taught them all the important parts of what became the foundation of their culture; at least one tribe has a story about a woman that got separated from her clan and was reunited with them after years of living with a tribe of bears and having a child with one of them only for her and the child to literally turn into bears after being given bear skins to keep them warm for the winter; the Celtic language used the word Arth to say Bear, and yes this is where King Arthur supposedly gets his name from with the name basically translating to "Bear" of or "Of the Bear." The Celtic peoples had some interesting ideas of what bears even meant, some of which were transferred over into the ideologies of various European cultures thanks to them literally being descended from different Celtic tribes and cultures.

[@yeeunkim1379]

Korea was (mythologically speaking) created when a bear turned into a woman, married a sky god, and had a child!

[@russergee49]

Interestingly, Zeus disguising himself as Artemis only appears in a couple of versions - all the other versions just have Zeus in his own form. Ovid’s stories are often taken as definitive versions, even when so many other (and actually Greek) authors tell the myth differently (and long before Ovid wrote his own stories). Apparently, the first case of the story with Zeus-as-Artemis was a comedy (lost, but briefly recounted by another author), and it was meant to be comedic that Callisto would accuse Artemis of impregnating her, so maybe this was meant to be played for laughs? I think the reason Callisto was referenced in so many writings may have to do with the fact that her son was sort of a founding figure for the region of Arkadia, which is a very very old region of Greece, so I’m not surprised she would be mentioned so often and why there would be varying versions of her story (but certain things remain the same - she’s nearly always turned into a bear, which makes sense because Arkadia and her son Arkas are etymologically linked to the word for ‘bear’).

[@chuckled125]

imagine if future historians thought snl skits were what actually happened

[@russergee49]

@@chuckled125 Kind of! To be fair, a comedic parody can still tell us something - it can tell us what was funny and/or comedic convention at the time. Though good luck to future generations trying to figure out David S. Pumpkins…

[@kamronspencer4910]

I agree with them that it’s hilarious.

[@Valery0p5]

"It's just a prank, Callisto" "It's not a prank, it's a trap!"

[@sonofcronos7831]

Ovid version IN THIS CASE is not that bad however. But his version of the history of Medusa, and Atlas, who is a god, turning into stone by Medusa head, is just horrible and unfortunaly changed a lot of people perception. Most greeks and romans did not believe Atlas turned to stone for example, because he is a freaking god. However, a lot of people today seems to believe that (even trough he still appears in Heracles story later fine), just because of Ovid.

[@judochopmaster8233]

How is no one talking about the "If it's black, fight back!" part? It caught me off guard. Freaking hilarious.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

I hope one day we can get a video on Melinoe and other of Hades kids from myths since Hades 2 got announced Plus I'd love to see Red draw Demeter and her grandkids. It'd be adorable

[@Mythos998]

It would be

[@cartoonishidealism582]

Melinoe appears in one hymn and that’s basically it. No myths, just a vague description of her driving people to madness. So… probably not enough for a full video. I suppose Red could delve into like, all the theories surrounding her and possible syncretisms and stuff but otherwise there’s not much.

[@annekeener4119]

@@cartoonishidealism582that’s why it would probably be on Zagreus, Melinoe, and any other kids Hades and Persephone have in the myths.

[@Romalac]

I *do* like the idea of a kind of "Myths Medley" video, where Red takes a few tiny myths that themselves couldn't fill a whole video and does a bunch back-to-back to make a video that does.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

@@annekeener4119 the problem is that the Greeks called Hades "Zeus of the Underworld" and the orphic cult thought the 2 bros were the same god, just different aspects. So a lot of confusion on not wanting attention, synchronization, and own personal head Canon

[@legoking6165]

Does anyone else think that one day Red should cover the seven voyages of Sinbad? I think seeing her put her usual humorous spin on those stories would make for something very funny.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

Agreed. I spent the whole time reading thinking, "If you almost die multiple times every time you sail, why would you ever go anywhere near the ocean?" I mean, the first time _I_ get carried off by a giant bird, I am done with this sh*t. I'm weird like that.

[@aflyinfaux1447]

This...makes Artemis gushing to Zagreus about meeting Callisto a LOT harsher in hindsight...

[@modstin]

Well in Hades, Artemis comments that Callisto has the ability to turn into a bear innately. While Zeus is still a complete chauvenistic asshole, I think the 'cutting out the zeusenings' is a pretty big component of Supergiant's retellings of myths.

[@Brian-tn4cd]

I knew something of one of these telling and did always wonder why Callisto was seen positively by Artemis in the game

[@sapphicgeek24]

@@Brian-tn4cd probably just refraining the myth like people do with Hades and Persephone.

[@ellymyths]

THAT'S WHERE I KNOW HER NAME!!!! The entire time I was like "I've heard of Callisto before, I swear" Thank you! You saved me hours if trying to remember

[@Brian-tn4cd]

@@ellymyths you may have also heard it since its one of Jupiter's major moons.... Alongside others he had his way with

[@fenris5932]

Idk which is weirder, Zeus knowing what his daughter looks like naked or, presuming that this doesn't work on immaculate conception rules, he was able to give Callisto the 5 dollar footlong without her picking up on the fact that she might not be Artemis

[@Boss_Isaac]

It was actually _much_ worse, well Ovid's version was, anyway. Zeus-as-Artemis beckons Kallisto to her only to grab Kallisto by the arms and then transform back into Regular Zeus. Kallisto is unable to escape his grip, Ovid writing something like "for who can be stronger than the king of the gods?", and so the lord of heaven rapes her.

[@Blaze-xe8cl]

Zeus made someone pregnant in the shape of a golden shower and hes artemis dad im pretty sure he knows shat she looks like

[@desreploid3353]

It should be noted that the version where Zeus turns into Artemis first came from a comedy, meaning that the latter scenario you describe and the following Callisto accusing Artemis of all people of impregnating her was played mostly for laughs

[@hopelesshopefulromantic1791]

Accidental genius at it's finest with the arctic and bears

[@jasonreed7522]

Its amazing just how truly accurate this coincidence is. Arctic = land of bears named because you can see the bear constellations year round and most (all?) bear species live in or around the arctic. (Alaska is famous for having every bear species in north America have their range extend into it) And then we named the other icecap/pole the Antarctic which basically means the opposite of the arctic and its a land where the bear constellations are never visible and no bears inhabit the continent. And then we have stuff like electricity where we guessed that the positive charges moved and defined current as the direction a positive charge would move, and the reality is that negatively charged electrons move so current points opposite of electron flow. (It was 50/50 and we guessed wrong)

[@trogdor6135]

“Welcome to the bear circle”

[@kamenkuma05]

Welcome to bear town, where we only have one rule and it is to spite god

[@LuneWatcher]

Honestly, whoever did the worldbuilding for bears did a great job here

[@kaitlinloughran2711]

That screen of a bear flipping off the stars is what I needed today

[@Justmichael1995]

I'm so excited to learn about something that I only slightly remember from a random book in middle school.

[@rustomkanishka]

Sometimes I really forget how beautifully Red sings. I'd not thought about this song in the better part of a decade. Thanks, Red.

[@Romalac]

Still not keen on Artemis exiling Callisto for the crime of being assaulted, but that's at least better than the version I heard as a kid where she gets so angry that Callisto is pregnant that she kills her right then and there. That version is technically sadly on-brand for the Greek pantheon, but it still never sat right with me.

[@IceQueen975]

Artemis takes vows of chastity seriously. Doesn't matter that she was assaulted; she broke her oath. Oath-breaking was a serious thing back then. Kassandra also made an oath to Apollo to remain chaste... and then he wanted her and she must say "no" lest she break her original oath to him. The irony. Though, that means it's unclear if, had she not taken a chastity oath, if she WOULD have slept with him...

[@Romalac]

@IceQueen975 Hence why it doesn't sit right- yeah, she vowed to remain chaste, but if she didn't break that vow willingly and couldn't do much to stop it, seems pretty screwed up to then execute her for it. (She's arguably guiltier in the versions where she willingly goes along with it, especially when Zeus takes on Artemis' form- Callisto _should_ have known something was up if Artemis was hitting on her- but even then it's a disproportionate punishment.)

[@dreamwalker7483]

I heard one where artemis turned her into a bear, as punishment and to remind her that if she ever saw her again shed be killed

[@Boss_Isaac]

​@@IceQueen975 Wasn't the story that Kassandra agreed to lay with Apollon in exchange for the gift of prophecy only to go back on her word, yes?

[@Boss_Isaac]

​@@Romalac I still say Kallisto is not at fault, especially not in Ovid's version. Ovid makes clear that Zeus was disguised as Artemis to lure her into a false sense of security, that he grabbed Kallisto by the arms, the hunter unable to escape his grip, and raped her after returning to his regular form.

[@SonicRooncoPrime]

It's crazy how detailed Red's drawings have become over the years. So many smooth animations!!

[@floricel_112]

Aaand to this day I do not comprehend how these ancient people looked up to the night sky, saw these shiny dots up there, vaguely connected the dots in the form of pans, then thought to themselves "yup, looks like a bear to me!"

[@dandelion_16]

cause the pan/ dipper is only a small part of the actual bear. Light pollution most likely makes it hard for contemporary people to see the full night sky (especially when you live in the city). Back in the day they probably saw the weaker stars too

[@clara_corvus]

​@@dandelion_16 Still, even with all stars visible, it seems arbitrarily connected and doesn't really look like a bear to me

[@thedragonwarrior5861]

In school, one of my books showed a picture of a woman sitting in a chair holding a mirror over a bunch of stars in a pretty straight line. Constellations are weird

[@daviddaugherty2816]

​@@thedragonwarrior5861 Pretty sure that's Cassiopea, A.K.A. the letter W.

[@justafellawholikesbears]

Always fun to learn new bear related things. The fact that Arctic and Antarctic are named like that due to the stars and not the fact that there's bears and no bears but it still managed to be correct is so wonderful!

[@TetsuShima]

Artemis: "I love you, Callisto" Callisto: "I love you, Ar..." Real Artemis: *Breaks in* "HE'S NOT ARTEMIS, CALLISTO!!! JUST A F*CKING IMPOSTER!!!" Callisto: "What...?" Zeus: *Reveals his true form* "Hehe, looks like all fun here is over! Please don't tell Hera..." *Disappears*

[@johnmartin4119]

Callisto: I suppose this is as good a time as any to reveal my true feelings Artemis: No, no, no, no, no, no… just no

[@Canadamus_Prime]

There's an imposter Among Us.

[@androxtempest3913]

Artemis: Im definitely telling hera...

[@justinalicea1590]

Yeah, have to admit, really sad that we don't get a version where Callisto calls out Artemis on that it was Artemis herself who seduced her and yet got her pregnant. Though I guess there is a 50/50 chance of Artemis taking that at face value without considering who would have disguised themselves as her and just immediately delete Callisto from existence or something.

[@hildegunstvonmythenmetz6095]

@@Canadamus_Prime Amogus

[@YouTube]

zeus’ involvement in so many stories really never fails!

[@juanwilson1462]

Why is KZbin commenting on new videos?

[@wren_.]

who’s running the KZbin account

[@mckenziebate2949]

Bring back dislikes please

[@oddish3152]

...why are you here?

[@Hi-xb2rg]

Here before most of the replies talking about how its youtube

[@geckokid8265]

I love the look of wonder and joy on the Arcadian eating bread's face

[@jaydenklaus]

Isn't that everyone's face when they eat bread?

[@tirzahroseroot]

Knowing the story of Ursa Major and Minor already, I knew this was going to be a good episode. Red’s sass is on full display when Zeus does something like this.

[@thedragonwarrior5861]

So in most stories

[@mushroom_thing7927]

You know it's going to be a good day when a new Miscellaneous Myths vid comes out.

[@broseph3321]

Dude, the sky transition from the woods to Olympus was awesome

[@Zbot8577_]

I need that "whoopsies" with Zeus. Sticker, shirt, coffee mug, I don't care, I WANT IT

[@TBT707]

As someone whos currently writing a book about callisto...i cannot tell you how happy i was to see you post her story!!!

[@charlieterry8506]

This is a BEARY GOOD Episode :p

[@KomodoMagic]

Shut up Teddie

[@robstewartstewart98]

@ok now I can BEARly contain my excitement at a new myths video!

[@greenblaze9406]

I can't *Bear* to let this oppurtunity to pass, although starting this pun war should make you *paws*

[@Sam_596]

5:10 I love the little gremlin pose Callisto has

[@TheBT]

Yeah, I do love that Arctic means bear and Antarctic means no bear

[@ToaArcan]

Step into the _BEAR CIRCLE._

[@elijahpadilla5083]

@@ToaArcan cue SpongeBob "sea bear" joke

[@badbloodkiller3471]

Arctic = Bear Antarctic = no bear One letter off to spell Anti Arctic.

[@SchrodingersTransCat]

Ursa Major is one of the very few asterisms (starry features in the sky) mentioned in Homer. Odysseus uses it to navigate by at sea. That means it was probably known back in the Dark Age of Greece, centuries before all the other join-the-dots puzzles of the Greek constellations were figured out or imported. But even in Homer, it's given *two* names: the Bear and the Wain (meaning Wagon). The Wagon is more or less what it was called in Mesopotamia. And the older civilisations there, Sumer and Babylon, were the source for many of the later constellations. So ... is that reference in Homer a hint of early Mesopotamian contact and influence in the Dark Age, or even earlier, back in the Mycenaean period? Or does it come from some other, even older source? It's one of the most recognisable features of the night sky, along with Orion, the Pleiades and so on, and is an asterism known all over the world to cultures with barely any constellation lore. Calling it a 'Bear' seems like something hunters/nomads would do, while calling it a 'Wagon' is what farmers would do. Two ancient ways of life that have been coexisting and getting on each other's nerves for a very long time. Hmm ... 🧐 (I've been nerding out on ancient constellations for months and it's ALL YOUR FAULT RED. )

[@guillermopena8412]

Ancient Greek child: How was that star made? Ancient Greek Scholar: Well, you see Zeus was horney one day and found a human. Ancient Greek child: Again?! Ancient Greek Scholar: Yes....

[@CoralCopperHead]

Ancient Greek Child: Dad, our gods are messed up. Ancient Greek Father: No, YOU'RE messed up!! No, I... I'm sorry. You're... probably not messed up.

[@joesplace2960]

@@CoralCopperHeadoversimplified?

[@laraschroeder5195]

When you said that Zeus took the form of Artemis, I just let out a loud “HUUUUUHHHH!??”. I mean… it’s f*cked up that he seduced one of his DAUGHTERS FRIENDS disguised as HER, but I can’t help but think this was one of the more humane ways he got a woman to bang him. Artemis: You SEDUCED one of my MAIDENS as M E ? Zeus: If it makes you feel better, she consented and was super into it. Artemis: That does not make me feel better, Dad.

[@ΣοφοκληςΒλαχόπουλος-ι9ν]

Technically it's not consent since she didn't know it was Zeus

[@rami_ungar_writer]

Callisto really was a Mama Bear in every sense of the phrase.

[@hypocriticalcritic6915]

I love Artemis going "FIRST TRY" after unknowingly shooting Callisto

[@HK23783]

Speaking of stars, I just yesterday took a gorgeous photo of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus. All in the same line.

[@maydaydoodles]

That's awesome

[@Cl0udS1nks]

That sounds sick af, wish I could see it

[@chloeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

thats amazing!! i didnt get one with the moon but i did get a photo of jupiter and venus together. theyre both so bright together, its marvelous

[@darkzap_tts]

Aww the end song sounded so cute today, Red's getting better at singing, her voice was so soothing.

[@shambhav9534]

Sadly, these days in cities, literally nothing is visible in the night sky. Doesn't matter if constellations exist or not for me. I can't see them.

[@augustrempelewert4377]

To be fair, I've lived in places where you can see hundreds of stars at night, and I STILL can't make out constellations. Every star looks exactly like every other star when they're all millions of miles away.

[@AyubuKK]

3:42 seems a lot more plausible knowing Zeus.

[@jordanmchone823]

I love how thorough Red is with research. I know it must be a headache

[@mythologymaniac500]

At 5:41, maybe Zeus should make THAT a constellation. Certainly enough people around Greece it would relate to.

[@jeremy1860]

Nice to see you talking about constellations again 😊

[@AnaxErik4ever]

Callisto’s story often doesn’t get included in myth collections I have noticed. It is an odd one to be sure, since this affair of Zeus WAS NOT sabotaged by Hera and Callisto was originally a hunter of Artemis. Thank you for going over all of the myths of the world that defy description. PS It is my 30th birthday when this was uploaded.

[@Wildstag]

I think I need a pin or sticker of that Zeus at 5:41.

[@Xwithashotgun]

This is the only myth with a bear that doesn’t end with Grizzly murder

[@Brian-tn4cd]

Well except in the tellings where Callisto is killed by Artemis, edit also boooo

[@kenbrown2540]

Red, I can't even decide my favorite part of your vids anymore. The writing? The voice work? The art? The singing outro? This is art. Watch out for Zeus, you are definitely standing out amongst the humans.

[@Dostoron]

2:35 gets blasted with a curse for having a kid "ah, zeus."😑 perfect

[@danielmalinen6337]

If you happen to visit Finland sometime, you might hear that Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are salmon nets. In Finland, the constellations in question are known as Otava and the smaller Otava. Otava was an old Iron Age and Medieval fishing net that was used to catch salmon. Typically, otava-net was placed through the river so that the migrating salmon couldn't get through it but were caught in the trap and it was once popular because it caught a lot of fish. For some peoples, Ursa Major is also the Big Dipper, the Meat Ax, The Basket, the Casserole, the Canoe or even the Chariots.

[@hatsquid7253]

I wasn't ready, even though i should have, been, duh, greek myth but "unfortunately for Callisto she's a human being in ancient greece" my brain "ah the woes of being a mortal" "and thus catches the eye of zeus" "OH NO THE WOES OF BEING A HUMAN BEING IN ANCIENT GREECE"

[@calistawild3099]

I’ve been so excited for this one!! My name is Calista and I’ve always loved Ursa Major and wanted to find out more since a few friends of mine started associating me with bears in a completely unrelated context hahaha thank you!!!

[@ludoviclemaignen9432]

I love that you mention the fact that Polaris wasn't at the pole when this myth was first told.

[@rexblade504]

Honestly it's impressive that the Greeks were able to come up these entire stories from just looking at stars

[@witchyenvi]

Red is genuinely my favorite content creator ever, and one of the first channels I've watched is OSP, and the only one I really remember. This channel is really just a gem among all of the shitposting of the internet

[@mallk238]

I once heard that the reason the bears tails seem too be really long (the "handle" of the big dipper) is because zeus FLUNG them up there by swinging them around by their tails. It adds very little to the story of WHY he threw them up there, but it DOES give us an idea of HOW which tbh is pretty funny.

[@KTChamberlain]

Red, this was great timing, because just the other day, I published Angel Overload, the second volume to my sci-fi trilogy The Godsend Epic that I wrote and illustrated, and it just so happens that my favorite character in my trilogy is a woman named Callisto Shruiken and she lives up to her name and has some parallels with her namesake. What's funny is that while I was heavily influenced by Greek myths, I didn't know about the myth of Ursa Major until after the fact, which really blew my mind. She also happens to bear (no pun intended) a raw resemblance to Ursa, Zuko's mother from Avatar: the Last Airbender, and Ursa shares some parallels to Callisto in Greek mythology, aside from her name, of course. I mean mind blown. If you're interested, Angel Odyssey is book one in this trilogy, and Angel Overload is book two, and both are available on Amazon.

[@dylan_colon_three]

4:08 OK so I was today years old to find out that arctutrus is a real actual star and not just a big purple war genral snake who got a celestial zodiac and a rocket ship named after him in Ninjago

[@NexusSpacey]

These are by far some of my favorite videos on the internet. I just love myths and history, especially in this style

[@aslandus]

Arcas being a Minecraft fan is exactly the kind of hilarious nonsense that really brings this channel together

[@evergreen6702]

"a new video! Ursa Major? oh no :( poor Callisto" - my thoughts getting this notification

[@virtualstuffrighthere6716]

The entire “Arcas wants to be a Minecraft KZbinr” is amazing

[@chloeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

i absolutely love these constellation videos!!! i love love love the stars and constellations and this makes me so happy to see. pls do more of these if/when you can!

[@JoshZanders]

I just wanna say, as a pretty new subscriber who just went through and binged a TON of OSP content... It's genuinely rare to find a channel with multiple hosts/personalities/content styles where I don't find myself preferring one over the other(s). Y'all are all equally fun to watch and listen to in whatever you happen to be doing, and that is something truly special. 10/10, will binge again.

[@lucknlogic]

You're giving Zeus too much credit with cheating the fourth time that month. It would be the fourth time that week

[@thedragonwarrior5861]

Ain't that the truth

[@daviddaugherty2816]

It was clearly the first day of the month.

[@81dnomyar]

I'm literally an astronomy major and TA for the beginning astronomy class at my university Your explanation of circumpolarity was so simple and clear that I was shook

[@SunKiddow]

A version I heard, is that Hera got pissed after Callisto and son got put in the heavens as two bear constellations, so she put The Dragon between mother and son, so they'll always be apart.

[@thedragonwarrior5861]

That sounds like something Hera would do

[@Impish_64]

"I know how I can fix this, I'll turn them into stars, yeah!" -Zeus, probably

[@Opal_Dragond]

The grumpy bear expressions are a mood 😂 The pins are gorgeous!!

[@handgun559]

As a kid in the north we def learned about the big and little dipper, but it was actually a few years before they taught us about the bear. Which is a shame, cuz your drawing of it makes em look so cute and chunky. I love space bear.

[@wjzav1971]

"My mother got turned into a bear" "That's rough buddy"

[@nekrs..spooky2439]

Thanks to OSP I "Carried" my Quiz ball/ Scholars Ball team bc of Dante's inferno but other than that I love. Y'all's content! :)

[@feyefall4855]

Definitely one of Zeus's squickiest escapades. And the more I think about it, the more disturbing it is that there are even ties for that spot.

[@mayajade6198]

My favorite variation on this myth is one I got told in preschool (dunno why they told us this in preschool) where the way Zeus gets them up into the sky is by picking Callisto up by the tail and swinging her around so hard that her tail stretches out, which is why the great bear has a long tail for some reaon.