S4E5 - The Stories of the Stars

The stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features people who meet horrible fates for being Artemis' friend, pranks that go way too far, Zeus being Zeus, and love leading to pregnancy.

Greaking out gods and heroes' amazing feats.

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In Greek mythology, stars are more than just stars.

A group of stars or a constellation is sometimes arranged in a certain shape that makes it look like an image of something, kind of like a big connect the dot puzzle.

The Greeks used to believe these shapes represented heroes and warriors that deserved a spot in the sky to be remembered and revered for all eternity.

It is a true honor to be placed among the stars.

But, of course, stars are only large, incandescent, celestial bodies that are so far away they look like tiny points of light.

They are not the outlines of long-ago heroes.

Why you gotta make everything less cool?

I make everything way more cool with science.

Scientists use exploding stars, called supernovas, to try to communicate with aliens.

Since supernovas are the brightest things in the sky, they send messages in the opposite direction, hoping aliens are looking our way.

Okay, that is cool.

I admit.

Okay.

Now, we've already mentioned a few of the heroes placed in the sky.

Hercules, for example.

Hera, please.

Heracles, right?

Heracles, exactly.

And today, we're going to discuss two more characters that earn their rightful place in the night sky: Orion and Callisto.

Orion and Callisto are rarely talked about together.

I do not know if they have ever interacted.

That's true.

We're not sure if the two ever met each other, but they both were honored by the gods after their deaths, and they both share a very important friend in common, Artemis.

Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt and wild animals.

She is also the goddess of the moon.

and protector of young girls and women who are not mothers.

Wow, that's a lot of responsibility.

Artemis was quite responsible.

She even took an oath never to marry so she could focus on her interests and obligations.

But even though she could be serious and even though she swore to never be distracted by something as frivolous as love, Artemis did eventually meet someone worth relaxing for.

And his name was Orion.

Orion.

was the son of Poseidon, the sea god.

He was a giant hunter.

Wait, he hunted giants?

No, he was a giant.

And he was a hunter.

A giant hunter.

Gotcha.

Yes, Orion was a hunter, a legendary hunter, in fact.

Gods and mortals alike were awed by his tracking and archery.

And yes, he was also rather tall and giant-like in appearance.

Orion lived a full, exciting life and had many adventures, but some claim that his greatest adventure of all was meeting the goddess Artemis in Crete.

Crete is the largest island in Greece and is one of the biggest islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

Orion was out hunting like he had done every day of his life, but unlike every other day of his life, this was the day he would meet Artemis.

As he was out walking, Orion heard a small noise, a rustling out in the woods.

The hair on the back of his neck began to stand up.

He knelt slowly in the brush and carefully grabbed one of his arrows.

Slowly, he began to take aim as a creature began to emerge from the trees.

But before he could launch the arrow, he heard a whizzing noise and watched in confusion when the creature he was hunting fell into the grass with an arrow lodged in its heart.

Orion walked over to the creature and discovered that it was a deer.

The only question was, who killed it?

He picked up the body and examined the kill.

It had been a clean shot from what must have been very far away.

This wasn't your average hunter.

It must have been someone with great skill and expertise, someone well-trained in the sport of hunting.

I do believe you are holding my deer, a voice called from the shadows.

Orion looked around, but he couldn't find the source of the voice.

Show yourself, he said, determined to keep his tone calm and collected.

When Artemis emerged from the woods, Orion's jaw dropped to the forest floor.

He wasn't expecting a girl, and he certainly wasn't expecting a goddess of such pure and exquisite beauty.

Still, he knew exactly who she was.

All hunters did.

And he fell to his knees out of respect.

Goddess Artemis, it is an honor to be in your presence.

I should have known it was you.

No one else could have shot an arrow with such skill.

Artemis smiled at the compliment as she considered the man before her.

She had heard of Orion.

She was the goddess of the hunt, after all, and Orion's skill with the bow and arrow was common knowledge by this time, but she was taken by his charm and mannerisms.

She liked him right away.

Orion, I was wondering when we would meet.

Come, walk with me and tell me all about your tales.

I heard you got into a spot of trouble on the island of Chios.

Orion laughed as he walked with Artemis through the woods and told her stories of his famous hunts.

Every now and then, they would stop to track some animal through the bush.

Orion was taken with Artemis' beauty, charmed by her conversation, but more than anything, he was in awe of her accuracy and skill with the bow and arrow.

Hunting had been Orion's first love, but it seemed it would not be his last.

Days fell into weeks, which turned into months, and the two continued to find reasons to hunt together on a daily basis.

Orion didn't want Artemis to go, and frankly, she didn't want to leave.

And although they clearly loved one another, neither of them had yet spoken the words.

They both preferred bow and arrows to grand gestures of love, as this was the thing that drew them together in the first place.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with this relationship.

Apollo, the twin brother of Artemis, felt threatened by the budding romance.

Apollo is the god of music and light.

He also enjoyed hunting with Artemis.

Yes, Apollo and Artemis were quite close, and Apollo kind of felt threatened by this new person in his sister's life.

He wasn't sure that he wanted her to be distracted from all of her responsibilities.

He was convinced that this relationship would be her downfall.

Artemis, you have to be careful, he told her.

You can't be caught up in things as foolish as love.

You have important duties.

You are a goddess and he's just a giant.

What could he possibly offer you?

But Artemis ignored her brother.

She knew Orion was kind-hearted and brave.

She thought she had finally found a partner worthy of her love and affection.

But when Artemis refused to listen to Apollo, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

One day, when the twins were out hunting by themselves, Apollo challenged Artemis to a long-range shooting match.

Artemis rolled her eyes.

Apollo had challenged her before and hadn't ever been able to win any archery-related competition.

But, of course, she agreed.

If Apollo wanted to lose today, that was his business.

Apollo told her the target was a bobbing figure far off in the ocean.

She allowed him the first shot that went very wide, not even making it into the ocean.

Artemis laughed at her brother's mistake and absentmindedly pulled out her bow, lined up the shot, and released the arrow.

It struck its target immediately.

From the distance, Artemis heard a scream.

She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

It was Orion.

She ran out into the ocean and saw that her arrow had pierced through Orion's good heart.

She grabbed him and carried him to shore, trying to revive him, but it was no no use.

Death had already taken him away from her.

She was devastated.

Apollo was gone, afraid to face his sister after the little prank he pulled.

Artemis felt too many feelings all at once.

She was furious with her brother, gutted by the death of her friend, and horrified that she was the one who ended Orion's life.

But she was also determined, determined to make it up to Orion in some way.

Artemis wasn't human after all, so she thought of things differently.

Mortal beings were only supposed to be temporary, she knew, but she wouldn't let Orion be only temporary.

She wanted to make sure he was honored for ages and ages to come.

She wanted to make sure no one would forget him.

One night, she was laying on the grass looking up at the night sky and thinking about Orion when it came to her.

The stars, of course.

Artemis asked Zeus to make Orion a constellation in the sky to shine down upon her hunts.

He agreed, and now the hunter is placed in the stars admired for all eternity.

Zeus also created the constellation Canis Major, a hunting dog, to accompany Orion on his hunt in the sky.

And while this story is certainly sad and maybe even a little tragic, this isn't the only time that Artemis contributed to the constellations.

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Yeah, let's take a break, uh, regroup, and we'll be back in just a couple of seconds.

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Okay, this second story is about Callisto.

And unlike Orion, Callisto and Artemis didn't exactly have the best relationship.

It started out fine.

Callisto was one of Artemis' hunting attendants and had decided to join Artemis in her pack to never get married.

Callisto quickly became one of Artemis' closest friends and confidants.

Callisto was a nymph and the daughter of King Lycaon.

And a confidant is a friend who you tell all your secrets to.

Yes, and nymphs are known in Greek mythology to be very pretty.

Most nymphs are depicted as beautiful maidens.

And Callisto was no exception.

Yes, okay, Callisto was gorgeous.

So gorgeous, in fact, that she caught the eye of Zeus.

Now, it's important to keep in mind that Callisto did not want to fall in love with Zeus.

She was Artemis' dear friend, and everyone knew the rule for Artemis was, you couldn't hang around men if you wanted to be Artemis' friend.

And especially, it was well known that Artemis didn't care for the way Zeus treated the women he was supposed to be protecting.

In other words, he was the exact wrong dude for Callisto.

I will not let myself fall in love with Zeus, she told herself.

I will ignore him and he will eventually go away.

But Zeus was persistent.

He showered Callisto with gifts and compliments and went out of his way to make her happy.

And as a nymph, Callisto had spent most of her life playing second fiddle to the gods.

Yes, she was beautiful, but she certainly wasn't a goddess.

And yet Zeus made her feel special.

After a while, she let her guard down and began to fall in love with him.

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself.

She wanted to feel love and Zeus was being so nice.

Callisto made Zeus swear to never tell Artemis.

She knew that Artemis would never forgive her and that their friendship would be ruined.

Artemis would never be able to accept such a betrayal.

Artemis is known for her anger throughout Greek mythology.

She has done some regrettable things while angry.

I bet she'd be pretty mad about this.

It is safe to say she'd be furious.

Yeah, unfortunately, it wasn't long before Artemis found out about the love between Callisto and Zeus in the worst possible way by learning that Callisto was pregnant.

You know I cannot have any maidens here who are with child.

You will have to leave, Artemis said, feeling the sting of betrayal.

Callisto began to pack up her things as Artemis watched.

Finally, she asked the question she'd been wondering all along.

Who is the father?

Callisto hesitated.

She knew Artemis would be devastated, but she also knew that she owed Artemis the truth.

They'd been best friends.

She didn't want to lie to her best friend any longer.

It is Zeus.

As expected, Artemis flew into a rage.

How dare you?

She screamed at Callisto.

I thought you were my friend.

Artemis grabbed her bow and arrow and took aim.

She would kill Callisto.

She had to.

There was no other way to deal with people who consorted with your enemy.

Please, Callisto shouted, please, I know, I know you want to kill me, and I know that I deserve it, but please, spare me at least long enough until my child is born.

Then do as you wish, I promise, but please, spare me long enough so that my child will live.

Artemis paused.

Like it or not, she was sworn to protect all girls and women who were not mothers, and Callisto was not yet a mother.

She did not want to break her oath, no matter how furious she was.

She nodded slowly, and Callisto ran away before Artemis could change her mind.

Eventually, Callisto had her baby, a boy she named Archis.

Archis would go on to become a beloved king.

The region of Arcadia is named after him.

And the scientific name for grizzly bear bears his name.

Ursus, Arctos, Horabilis.

Hey, I thought we had a talk about spoilers, Oracle.

Well, in the weeks since their conversation, Artemis' anger had begun to cool.

She was still furious, but decided on a different punishment than death.

Death was too easy, she decided.

Callisto needed to pay for this action with with her life as she had previously known it.

So, late in the evening, Artemis went into the woods where Callisto and Arcus were sleeping.

She whispered an incarnation over Callisto's sleeping form and watched as she began to convulse and shake.

Brown fur began to cover her body, and her screaming voice deepened into a menacing growl.

Callisto was no longer human.

Artemis had transformed her into a bear.

Now you will pay for what you have done.

You will live out the rest of your days as a bear.

You will never see your son again.

And with that, Artemis picked up baby Arcus and took him with her as Callisto remained in the forest, trapped in the body of a bear.

But Artemis was wrong.

Callisto would see her son again.

Yes, she would, but not for many years.

You see, Artemis had given the baby to a mortal family.

They raised him as best as they could to be their son, but the boy could never quite shake his strange fondness for the woods.

Whether that was Artemis' influence or the fact that he was born in the forest, we never really will know for sure, but one day, after Arcus was a grown man, he made his way into the woods on a hunting trip.

And it was then that he saw a great big brown shape in the distance.

And his heart sped up.

If it was a bear, what an amazing trophy it would make.

He had always wanted to hunt a bear and for sure his buddies would be impressed.

But this was no ordinary bear.

It was Callisto.

Yes, and she had seen her son as well.

And even though she made the transition to bear life fairly well, all things considered, she recognized her son immediately.

and ran towards him.

She didn't stop, not even when Arcus pulled out his bow and arrow and aimed to shoot.

But as fate would have it, Zeus happened to be looking down on Earth at that exact moment.

When he saw Arcus about to kill his own mother, he flew down and shouted, Enough.

Zeus would not let Arcus kill Callisto, but he didn't want to cause his son grief by explaining that this creature was his mother.

That might be upsetting.

Just a little bit.

Instead, he ordered Arcus to leave and to vow to never kill a bear again.

When Arcus left, Callisto let out a cry of despair.

She was heartbroken all over again.

She was so close to her son, but she couldn't hug him or even tell him who she was.

Soon, Callisto stopped eating and drinking, and eventually she passed away, having lost the will to live.

Zeus was devastated to hear the news, and he felt responsible for Callisto's sad fate.

To make up for it, he placed her in the stars as a constellation, Ursa Major.

And when Arcus passed away many years later, Zeus placed him in the night sky right next to her as Ursa Minor.

Mother and son reunited at last.

So the next time you see the stars, keep an eye out for a legendary hunter.

A giant hunter, you might say.

And a bear and her son.

And take a moment moment to honor their stories.

Greaking Out.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Greaking Out.

Don't forget to tune in next week for a story about something kind of different.

But don't worry, there's still snakes involved.

Listen and you'll see it Greaking

Out

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes and hosted by Kenny Curtis.

with Tori Kerr as the Oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Diane Klein is our subject matter expert, and Emily Everhart is our producer.