Ursa Major and Ursa Minor

Helen Glazer, Artist Specializing in Murals and Reliefs

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (1992)
acrylic on vellum
17" x 14"
black wood frame handpainted with silver stars available
price on request

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Great Bear and the Little Bear) got their names from Greek mythology, and are the names scientists still use for these constellations. Callisto, one of Artemis' band of nymphs, was impregnated by the god Zeus while she slept. Since Artemis' nymphs were sworn to virginity, she was expelled from the group and according to some versions, Zeus' jealous wife Hera turned her into a bear. When her son Arcas had grown, she encountered him in the forest, but he failed to recognize her and raised his bow to shoot. Zeus intervened and turned Arcas into a bear, too, grabbed them both by their long tails and hurled them into the sky where they remain as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Great Bear and the Little Bear). Ursa Minor contains the North Star, Polaris.

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