In the sky it appears like a great bear of which the posterior part resemble to a cart
(the plough to distinguish it from the Small Cart of the Ursa Minor) or a frying pan or,
as the Arabs imagined to it,a coffin or a still,or as Germanic Cesar imagined it,a plough.
The Roman saw the cart like a small herd of seven oxes, in fact they called the seven stars
that composed it "septem Triones" from which derives the word “settentrione”, because the
constellation is turned approximately towards North. The stars that compose the cart are:
Dubhe (from the Arab al-dubb, "bear"), Merak (al-maraqq, "flank"), Alkaid or Benetnasch
("respective leader" and "daughters of the coffin"). The second star of the tail is in truth
formed from two stars near, distinguish also to nacked eye if we are equips of a good sight:
one is Mizar, from the Arabic word al-maraqq, "flank" (same derivation of Merak), and Alcor,
from the Arab al-jaun,"the horse or the black Taurus",same derivation also of the star Alioth.
Some say that Alcor in truth derives from the Arabic word that it means "forgotten”, just
because only who has good sight succeeds to distinguish it from the most shining Mizar. Then
still there is Megrez (“root of the tail" in Arab) and finally Phecda ("thigh"). The stars
Dubhe and Merak are called also "indicating stars", because extending the straight line that
it joins to them in direction of Dubhe, has reached the Polar star, than is found in the
immediate proximity of the celestial North Pole. The Greek myth of the Ursa Major has two
main interpretations, everyone of which, however, it introduces various versions. Ovidio has
handed to us the most popular, that is Callisto, daughter of Licaone, King of Arcadia. She
made part of the escort of Artemis (for the Roman is Diana, the goddess of the hunting) of
which she became preferred one, to the point from convince to make vow of cstity like the
goddess. A day however Zeus saw the beautiful child and contrived a trick for seduce her:
he took the semblance of Artemis,he lied down himself next to her while she was being rested
after the hunting, and before that the child noticed herself of the deceit, she came from
he possessed. Naturally satisfied Zeus withdrew himself in Mount Olympus,ignoring completely
the consequences of such gesture. Callisto,in fact,full of shame,did not reveal the happened
to Artemis, but when Artemis with to the others of the escort saw she naked during a bath,
they noticed that she had been pregnancy and the furious goddess transformed her in Bear, or,
according to an other version, she hunted her from the escort for then to be changed in Orsa
from Era, the jealous wife of Zeus. The son of Callisto, Arcas (see Boote), he was born and
grew without to never come to acquaintance of the transformation of the mother. A day the
two were met, but Callisto could not to make other that to grunt for show to him her joy
in the see again his, and the unaware Arcas therefore defense oneself trying to kill her.
Zeus noticed of the danger and finally decided to intervene: he sent a hurricane that
transported the two in the sky and Arcas, revealed the identity of the orsa, became its
caretaker. According to an other version,Callisto,pursued from the unaware son,she would
have been sheltered in the temple of Zeus and,saw who the access it was prohibited to anyone,
pain the dead, he seized them and carried them in sky to avoid the punishment. According
to an other version, it would have been just Zeus to change Callisto in bear, making she
to escape to the jealous wife, also if this last recognized her the same and she made her
to kill from Artemis, convinced that she was a common wild animal. Zeus therefore arranged
in the sky her image. The second interpretation has been handed to us from Arato: the bear
it would represent Adrastea,than with Ida (represented from the Ursa Minor) were the nursery
of Zeus. In that time circulated the legend that Crono, the maximum God for that tiime,would
have lost his throne for hand of his son. Therefore the same Crono swallowed all his sons for
fear that the legend came true. Rea decided to embezzle her son Zeus still child, from the
father Crono, she hided him in a cave of the mount ditte in Creta ,entrusting to the cares
of Adrastea, Ida and Amaltea (see Auriga), the goat that nursed him. Of guard to the cave
they were the Cureti, ready to mack row with swords and shield to cover the crying of the
child. Zeus grew, spodestò the father and recompensed the three that took that care of him
immortalize them in the sky, also if it is not understood because he would have transformed
Ida and Adrastea in bears. Represent a small mystery the great dimensions of the tail,normally
short for a bear: Thomas Hood, didn’t finding other justification, suggest that Zeus, throwing
launch the orsa in sky, he took it for the tail, that grow tall.