“callisto”
adapted by thomas bullfinch

in the halls of the gods of ancient rome was heard the voice of juno, wife of the great jupiter, and the tone of her voice was cold with a terrible anger. it was unheard of that juno the beautiful, juno the powerful, should hear the gods praise a human being as “lovely as the queen of the gods! ” such a thing juno would not endure!

the object of her wrath was a fair maiden named callisto, who little suspected what sorrow her beauty would bring her. juno in her fury cast a spell upon the maiden, so that callisto’s white hands grew large and clumsy and were armed with crooked claws, and over all her body grew coarse black hair.

sharp fangs were in her mouth, and her once musical voice became a terrible growl poor callisto! to outward view she became a bear that frightened all who met her, while within she remained a timid woman, afraid to stay in the lonely woods at night. she fled from the wild animals, quite forgetting that she herself was the most fearsome of all the bears.

callisto had a little son, and when she disappeared her family reared the boy to be a hunter. one day when the youth was hunting, callisto espied him and recognized him as her son. forgetful of all else, she rose on her hind feet, with arms extended to embrace him. the youth, terrified at her approach, raised his hunting spear and was about to plunge it into the bear. jupiter, beholding this scene from the skies, stayed the boy’s hand, and changed the boy also into a bear. he then lifted mother and son together into the sky as the great and little bear.

juno was enraged to see callisto and her son arcas so honored. hastening to her old foster parents, tethys and oceanus, the powers of the ocean, she besought their aid. “see where the circle of the sky is smallest,” she cried, “there near the pole. there you will behold callisto and her son. i changed callisto into a bear and now she has been exalted among the stars, and her son also. i beseech you, my foster parents, do not let these two enter your waters.”

the powers of the ocean assented to the desire of juno, and that is why, the legends say, that even today the two constellations of the great and little bear move round and round the heaven, but never sink, as other stars do, beneath the ocean.

source: bulfinch, thomas. “callisto.” book trails to enchanted lands. ed. renee b. stern. chicago: child development, 1946. 145. print.

a familiar character archetype is the outcast. this individual has been sent away from society for a real or imagined crime. it may also refer to one who chooses to withdraw from society. after reading the myth above, identify the character that illustrates the outcast archetype best.

tethys
juno
jupiter
callisto