Arctic

As the year ends and cold weather is setting, I thought of telling you a winter tale. And finish the year with the thought that, from the beginning of time, people always looked up to the vastness of the sky and tried to find meaning in our existence by creating and sharing stories and bringing everyone together. To listen. As an actor I couldn’t more proud to be human and be able to tell stories in any way I can. Thank you for staying with me this year, your company has been invaluable. See you in 2026!

(piano music) 

Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! 

There are several versions of this myth so I’m choosing the one that’s less complicated but have a look for the others . It’s fascinating how over the years , well into the Roman ones, people kept telling this story their own way. Artemis was the goddess of wild nature and hunting. Protector of animals, babies and mothers and connected to purity and youth. Καλλίστω (Callisto),who’s name means ‘beauty', was a nymph and a follower of Artemis and had vowed to stay a virgin. Zeus didn’t seem to care and seduced her by transforming into the god Apollo. When Hera, Zeus’s wife, found out, she turned Καλλίστω into a bear- an ‘άρκτος’ (arktos)-  but before that, Zeus managed to save her unborn child and raise it in secret. When the child turned 15 he went hunting in the woods and there, met with a bear and without knowing it was his mother he was about to aim and kill. That’s when Zeus intervened once again and turned both of them into constellations. Preventing matricide and re-uniting them forever. A big and a small Bear constellation can be seen in the sky and in English they have kept their Latin names, Ursa major and minor. But the word for the Ancient Greek name of the celestial place where a bear can be found was given to the the terrestrial one. ΑΡΚΤΙΚΟΣ/ARCTIC

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