Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, drawing on earlier works by Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Assyrian astronomers. Today it is the third largest of the 88 modern constellations.

The constellation of Ursa Major has been seen as a bear, usually female, by many distinct civilizations. This may stem from a common oral tradition of Cosmic Hunt myths stretching back more than 13,000 years. Using statistical and phylogenetic tools, Julien d'Huy reconstructs the following Palaeolithic state of the story: "There is an animal that is a horned herbivore, especially an elk. One human pursues this ungulate. The hunt locates or get to the sky. The animal is alive when it is transformed into a constellation. It forms the Big Dipper."

In Greek mythology, Zeus (the king of the gods, known as Jupiter in Roman mythology) lusts after a young woman named Callisto, a nymph of Artemis (known to the Romans as Diana). Zeus's jealous wife Hera (Juno to the Romans) discovers that Callisto has a son named Arcas as the result of her rape by Zeus and transforms Callisto into a bear as a punishment. Callisto, while in bear form, later encounters her son Arcas. Arcas almost spears the bear, but to avert the tragedy Zeus whisks them both into the sky, Callisto as Ursa Major and Arcas as the constellation Boötes. Ovid called Ursa Major the Parrhasian Bear, since Callisto came from Parrhasia in Arcadia, where the story is set.

In Hinduism, The earliest mention of Ursa Major/Big dipper/ Great Bear is known as Saptarshi, each of the stars representing one of the Saptarishis or Seven Sages (Rishis) viz. Bhrigu, Atri, Angiras, Vasishtha, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu. is found in the Rigveda (c. 1500–1200 BCE), one of the oldest known texts in human history.

One of the few star groups mentioned in the Bible (Job 9:9; 38:32; – Orion and the Pleiades being others), Ursa Major was also pictured as a bear by the Jews. "The Bear" was translated as "Arcturus" in the Vulgate and it persisted in the King James Version of the Bible.

The Iroquois interpreted Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid as three hunters pursuing the Great Bear. According to one version of their myth, the first hunter (Alioth) is carrying a bow and arrow to strike down the bear. The second hunter (Mizar) carries a large pot – the star Alcor – on his shoulder in which to cook the bear while the third hunter (Alkaid) hauls a pile of firewood to light a fire beneath the pot.

The Lakota people call the constellation Wičhákhiyuhapi, or "Great Bear".

The Wampanoag people (Algonquian) referred to Ursa Major as "maske", meaning "bear" according to Thomas Morton in The New England Canaan.

The Wasco-Wishram Native Americans interpreted the constellation as five wolves and two bears that were left in the sky by Coyote.

All published appearances of Ursa Major from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

* Hesiod, Astronomy Fragments
* The Library
* Idylls
* Description of Greece
* Clement, Recognitions
* Dionysiaca
* Fabulae
* Astronomica
* Metamorphoses
* Fasti
* Heroides
* Georgics
* The Argonautica
* Thebaid
* Achilleid

* “An Accident in High Life,” by Eleanor A. Hunter (Dec. 1882) – called the Great Bear

* The name Ursa Major is also used by Marvel Comics for a mutant with the ability to transform into a large anthropomorphic bear. They are the member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers.

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major Wikipedia]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/ursa-major/4005-13826/ ComicVine]
*[https://myths-in-media.fandom.com/wiki/Callisto_%26_Arcas Myths in Media Wiki]
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