Arctic....what's in a name?
…The word ‘Arctic’ comes from the ancient Greek word Arktos, which means ‘bear’. Now there's quite a story behind this and it's linked to our constellations.
According to Greek myth, the god Zeus fell in love with Callisto, a young attendant of Artemis (the goddess of the hunt). She fell pregnant and as punishment, Callisto was transformed into a bear by Zeus’ jealous wife Hera. Callisto’s son, Arcas later came across the bear in the woods, unknown to him that the bear was his mother. She stood on her hind legs to embrace her son but Arcas saw this as a sign of attack and got ready to kill her with his bow and arrow. Just as he was about to, Zeus stepped in and threw the bear into the heavens to save her from the arrow and Callisto became the constellation ‘Arktos’, later known as Ursa Major in Latin or ‘Great Bear’. Zeus also threw Arcas and he turned into the constellation ‘Little Bear’, adjacent to his mother and because the North Pole aims at the position of these constellations, it was called the Arctic.
The word Antarctica also comes from the Greek word ‘antarktikos’, which means “opposite the Bear”...and I'm sure it's no coincidence that Antarctica is home to no polar bears whatsoever!
Now there's something to think about!
Please visit these sites for our polar expeditions: www.discover-the-world.co.uk/arctic www.discover-the-world.co.uk/antarctica Thanks. Alexis (01737 214 294)
