In Greek mythology, Arcturus is a star created by Zeus to protect the nearby constellations, Arcas and Callisto (Ursa major and Ursa minor). According to the ancient Greek myth, Callisto was the daughter of Lycaon, the king of
However, one day several years later, Zeus, the father of the gods fell in love with Callisto and with him Callisto had a son whom she named Arcas.
Zeus knew that if Hera, his wife, learned of his disloyalty she would be angry with Callisto, so in order to protect her he transformed her into a brown bear. Callisto, as a bear, roamed around the forest looking for her son, Arcadian.
After years of searching she found Arcas who was now a grown man. She finally ran into him and happy as she was she stood on her back legs and tried to embrace him. Arcas however did not recognize her and thought he was being attacked, so he drew his sword trying to defend himself. Zeus, watching everything, as usual, felt sorry for them and in order to prevent this tragedy he transformed them into constellations (Ursa major and Ursa minor) and placed them near to him in the sky.
Hera, who was still furious, asked the Ocean, the river that surrounds the earth, not to permit them to wash themselves in his waters; therefore these two constellations are always seen high in the night sky. Moreover in order to protect them from Hera's jealousy he placed another star near to them, called Arcturus, which means the guardian of Arctos, the bear. It protects and accompanies them for eternity.
