TW: sexual assault
When we last looked at Greek mythology, I briefly spoke about Ursa Minor in its relation to Ursa Major, with the former representing Arcas and the latter representing his mother Callisto. It’s a great story, and I recommend taking a look at that post if you haven’t yet! The Greeks, however, have no single standardized canon, as I learned when I was putting together the story of Callisto. Several stories exist for the same constellations, although the same cast of mythological characters is often a part of all of them. The story of Phoenice, a lesser-known myth surrounding Ursa Minor, immediately follows the one version of the story of Callisto on a mythological timeline. As such, we will revisit this myth for context.
In this version of the myth of Callisto, it was the Artemis who turned the nymph into a bear. Callisto had been a follower of the goddess and a member of her hunting party. As such, she took a strict vow of chastity. After she had been raped by Zeus, she sought solace amongst the other huntresses, but once Artemis discovered she was pregnant, the goddess became furious. Not knowing the true circumstances, she blamed Callisto and expelled her from the hunting party, turning her into a bear as further punishment. Years later, Artemis saw Callisto and her son Arcas placed in the night sky. In this case, Arcas is not Ursa Minor but the constellation Boötes, where he eternally watches over his mother. Upon seeing them reunited, Artemis realized her grave mistake and vowed to never let such wrongs happen again. (1)
The opportunity to act on this vow soon presented itself as the adulterous Zeus lusted over another follower of Artemis named Phoenice. The goddess, however, maintained her vigilance, and once she had discovered the threat she acted quickly to protect Phoenice from her father. Artemis changed her into a bear before Zeus could reach her, and this time she would not let her follower roam the woods aimlessly as a beast. She placed Phoenice in the night sky as Ursa Minor, where she would be safe for eternity. To this day she circles the pole alongside Callisto, her companion in the hunt and among the stars. (1)
The name Phoenice is derived from the Greek demonym for the ancient civilization of Phoenicia, and its application to Ursa Minor is no coincidence (2). The Phoenician people originated in Greater Syria where they developed the first alphabetic writing system in the world, the ancestor to the Greek alphabet, and subsequently the Latin alphabet you are using to read these very words. The Phoenicians were also among the greatest sailors and traders of the ancient world. In the first millennium B.C. they established an expansive maritime empire of largely independent city-states in Cyprus, Northern Africa, Sicily, and Spain. Some minor settlements even extended as far as the British Isles. The prestige of Phoenician navigators was legendary, so much so that the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II (r. 610 - 595 B.C.) commissioned a number to sail from the Red Sea, around Africa, through the Straight of Gibraltar, and back to Egypt. Alongside the Greeks, the Phoenicians dominated the affairs of the ancient Mediterranean until both civilizations were overwhelmed by the burgeoning Roman Republic. (3)
Legend has it that the ancient Greeks navigated by the Big Dipper due to its prominence and never setting. This changed under the influence of the Phoenician philosopher Thales of Miletus (c. 620 - 545 B.C.), who advised the Greeks to navigate by the fainter Little Dipper. The constellation’s brightest star was close to the planet’s northern pole. Unfortunately, none of the writings of the philosopher survive, but the story is probably more allegorical anyways (4). It is not hard to believe that Phoenician sailors may have taught their Greek counterparts superior wayfinding techniques such as navigating by the Little Dipper. Furthermore, Ursa Minor was originally known to the Greeks as Ursa Phoenice, or the Phoenician Bear. From this name the bright star near the pole was known simply as Phoenice, making the Greeks’ association between the Little Dipper and the Phoenicians all the more apparent (5). Over time, the true pole moved closer and closer to Phoenice, and in the Middle Ages, the star became known as Polaris. However, as the precession of the Earth’s axis continues, Polaris will be obsolete as our pole star in just a thousand years, as will its name. In whatever renaming process takes place, I hope that future astronomers embrace Phoenice. The Phoenician civilization has long existed on the periphery of the study of ancient history, an unfair fate considering their immense influence on our world today. With Phoenice in the sky once again, the legacy of the Phoenicians will be returned to its rightful place among the stars they used to explore the ancient world.
References
Marshall, D. W. (2018). Ancient skies: Constellation mythology of the Greeks.
Figures
Hevelius, J. & Hevelius, E. (1690). Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia.
Upshur, J.-H. L. (2005). World history: The development of early civilizations. Belmont, Calif: Thomson/ Wadsworth.
Wallis, E. (1877). Illustrerad verldshistoria, Volume 1.
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