Ursa Major - Revision history

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2026-08-26T15:15:52Z

Eratosthenes

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:15, 26 August 2026
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	'''Var. 2:''' Hesiod tells us that the Great Bear is the daughter of Lycaon; she lived in Arcadia and had chosen to hunt in the mountains in the mountains, in the company of Artemis, to hunt wild beasts. Violated by Zeus, she began by her misadventure from Artemis, but when she was about to give, the goddess saw her taking a bath. The goddess was furious, changed her into a beast, and in this state she gave birth to a bear who was named Arcas. Amphis, the comic poet, says that Zeus took the guise of Artemis and went to the mountain and, during a common hunt, raped her. In time, her belly swelled up, but when she was questioned she said that the one responsible for her misfortune was none other than Artemis. The goddess was furious and turned her into a beast. While she was in the mountains, she was chased by goatherds, and handed over with her young to Lycaon. Later, she was tempted to enter the inviolable sanctuary of Zeus, because she was unaware of the law that concerned him. Her own son Arcas and the Arcadians pursued her there, and both she and her son were about to be put to death for having broken the law in question, when Zeus, on account of the bond which united him to them, placed her among the constellations, naming her ‘Bear’ because of her adventure. She has seven stars on her head, two on each of her ears, one on the shoulder ... a bright one, two on the hind leg, and three on the tail.</blockquote>The tale reflects the female initiation rites led by the goddess Artemis. The bathing scene is an expression of the stripping ritual (ἐκδυσία) that marks the end of a maiden's innocence. The anecdote of blaming a goddess for fathership might stem from a comedia, just to entertain the audience.		'''Var. 2:''' Hesiod tells us that the Great Bear is the daughter of Lycaon; she lived in Arcadia and had chosen to hunt in the mountains in the mountains, in the company of Artemis, to hunt wild beasts. Violated by Zeus, she began by her misadventure from Artemis, but when she was about to give, the goddess saw her taking a bath. The goddess was furious, changed her into a beast, and in this state she gave birth to a bear who was named Arcas. Amphis, the comic poet, says that Zeus took the guise of Artemis and went to the mountain and, during a common hunt, raped her. In time, her belly swelled up, but when she was questioned she said that the one responsible for her misfortune was none other than Artemis. The goddess was furious and turned her into a beast. While she was in the mountains, she was chased by goatherds, and handed over with her young to Lycaon. Later, she was tempted to enter the inviolable sanctuary of Zeus, because she was unaware of the law that concerned him. Her own son Arcas and the Arcadians pursued her there, and both she and her son were about to be put to death for having broken the law in question, when Zeus, on account of the bond which united him to them, placed her among the constellations, naming her ‘Bear’ because of her adventure. She has seven stars on her head, two on each of her ears, one on the shoulder ... a bright one, two on the hind leg, and three on the tail.</blockquote>The tale reflects the female initiation rites led by the goddess Artemis. The bathing scene is an expression of the stripping ritual (ἐκδυσία) that marks the end of a maiden's innocence. The anecdote of blaming a goddess for fathership might stem from a comedia, just to entertain the audience.

			'''Eratosthenes's star catalogue''' can be reconstructed from the list of stars he mentions in the last section of each of the constelllation descriptions. Hoffmann (2017)<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, S. M., <nowiki><i>Hipparchs Himmelsglobus</i></nowiki>. Springer Wiesbaden/ New York, 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-18683-8.</ref> made such a catalogue and used it for computational comparison with Hipparchus's, Ptolemy's and Babylonian data; it is based on the edition and translation by Pamias and Geus (2007)<ref>Eratosthenes: Sternsagen, übersetzt von Pamìas, Jordi und Geus, Klaus, Verlag Utopica, Oberhaid 2007</ref> and presented here in English translation.

	{\|class="wikitable"		{\|class="wikitable"

Sushoff: /* Hipparchus's "lost" star Catalogue */

2026-08-26T14:32:56Z

Hipparchus's "lost" star Catalogue

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:32, 26 August 2026
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	\|		\|
	\|ζ UMa (ζ1)		\|ζ UMa (ζ1)
	\|~~IntegerPart[~~65378A]		\|65378A
	\|non-CPAE		\|non-CPAE
	\|-		\|-

Sushoff: /* Stars Mentioned */

2026-08-26T14:32:05Z

Stars Mentioned

Show changes

Sushoff: /* Eratosthenes */

2026-08-24T19:52:47Z

Eratosthenes

Show changes

IanRidpath: Inserted missing ID numbers

2026-07-24T17:10:29Z

Inserted missing ID numbers

Show changes

IanRidpath: Amended link

2026-07-22T21:19:31Z

Amended link

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:19, 22 July 2026
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	== Weblinks ==		== Weblinks ==
	* Ridpath, Ian, “[http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/ursamajor.html ~~Star Tales: online edition~~]”.		* Ridpath, Ian, ''Star Tales'' – [http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/ursamajor.html Ursa Major]
	* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-017038 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Ursa Major]		* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-017038 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database – Ursa Major]

IanRidpath: Superscripts

2026-07-22T21:18:08Z

Superscripts

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:18, 22 July 2026
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	\|ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν		\|ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν
	\|The one to the rear		\|The one to the rear
	\|~~pi2~~ UMa		\|pi<sup>2</sup> UMa
	\|-		\|-
	\|4		\|4
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	\|ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν		\|ὁ ἐπόμενος αὐτῶν
	\|The one to the rear		\|The one to the rear
	\|~~sig2~~ UMa		\|sig<sup>2</sup> UMa
	\|-		\|-
	\|6		\|6
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	\|-		\|-
	\|28		\|28
	\|σ 2 Ursae Majoris		\|σ<sup>2</sup> Ursae Majoris
	\|HIP 45038		\|HIP 45038
	\|Constellation lines		\|Constellation lines
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	\|-		\|-
	\|33		\|33
	\|σ 1 Ursae Majoris		\|σ<sup>1</sup> Ursae Majoris
	\|HIP 44857		\|HIP 44857
	\|Inside the hull		\|Inside the hull

Sushoff at 05:42, 13 July 2026

2026-07-13T05:42:59Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:42, 13 July 2026
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	\| bordering = UMa, CVn		\| bordering = UMa, CVn
	\| notes =		\| notes =
	\| cat = constellation		\| cat = Almagest constellation
	}}		}}
	One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. The figure of the bear is Greek; it is one of the few constellations that are already documented in Homer. It has been handed down through all Greek eras. Aratos mentions that the constellation is also called the Chariot, but this is not documented anywhere else in Greek literature. Alternative to the Greek image of a large bear, many cultures saw different figures in this area - most of them only using the seven brightest stars. The ‘Chariot’ and the ‘Chariot of Heaven’ are two Babylonian constellations in the northern circumpolar region, and the [[:Category:BigDipper\|Big Dipper]] (American English), Northern Dipper (Chinese), Plough (British English), [[Charles's Wain]] (Old English/ Norse) are certainly some of them. In Dutch and French a saucepan or casserole. For the Navajo, an indigenous people of the North American West, it represents seven human figures.		One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations\|88 IAU constellations]]. The figure of the bear is Greek; it is one of the few constellations that are already documented in Homer. It has been handed down through all Greek eras. Aratos mentions that the constellation is also called the Chariot, but this is not documented anywhere else in Greek literature. Alternative to the Greek image of a large bear, many cultures saw different figures in this area - most of them only using the seven brightest stars. The ‘Chariot’ and the ‘Chariot of Heaven’ are two Babylonian constellations in the northern circumpolar region, and the [[:Category:BigDipper\|Big Dipper]] (American English), Northern Dipper (Chinese), Plough (British English), [[Charles's Wain]] (Old English/ Norse) are certainly some of them. In Dutch and French a saucepan or casserole. For the Navajo, an indigenous people of the North American West, it represents seven human figures.

Sushoff at 05:41, 13 July 2026

2026-07-13T05:41:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:41, 13 July 2026
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	\| numberbrightstars = 6		\| numberbrightstars = 6
	\| numbernearbystars =		\| numbernearbystars =
	\| brighteststarname = Alioth		\| brighteststarname = [[Alioth]]
	\| starmagnitude = 1.77		\| starmagnitude = 1.77
	\| neareststarname =		\| neareststarname =

Sushoff at 05:40, 13 July 2026

2026-07-13T05:40:46Z

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 ----
 [[File:Ursa Major (uma).jpg|alt=map|thumb|UMa  star chart (IAU and Sky & Telescope) ]]
 One of the [[:Category:88_IAU-Constellations|88 IAU constellations]]. The figure of the bear is Greek; it is one of the few constellations that are already documented in Homer. It has been handed down through all Greek eras. Aratos mentions that the constellation is also called the Chariot, but this is not documented anywhere else in Greek literature. Alternative to the Greek image of a large bear, many cultures saw different figures in this area - most of them only using the seven brightest stars. The ‘Chariot’ and the ‘Chariot of Heaven’ are two Babylonian constellations in the northern circumpolar region, and the [[:Category:BigDipper|Big Dipper]] (American English), Northern Dipper (Chinese), Plough (British English), [[Charles's Wain]] (Old English/ Norse) are certainly some of them. In Dutch and French a saucepan or casserole. For the Navajo, an indigenous people of the North American West, it represents seven human figures.