The myths of the Bear1 Elio Antonello INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera SIA – Società Italiana di Archeoastronomia
[email protected] Abstract. Following previous works on ancient myths in Greek and Latin literature regarding Ursa Major, and the possible relation with the ancient shape of the constellation, we discuss further this case in the light of the evolution of Homo sapiens and the ethnographic records of populations of Eurasia and North America. 1. Introduction Since the remotest antiquity, our ancestor Homo sapiens might have been impressed by the spectacular sight of the night sky. He had a ‘physical’ knowledge of the surrounding world except for the sky: he could observe the Sun and the other celestial bodies with their movements, but those objects were out of reach. That should have been a strong stimulus to the human intellect, forced to find explanatory myths of what he was observing. During the clear nights, especially when the Moon was not visible, the splendour of myriads of stars should have stirred his imagination. Today it is difficult to appreciate such a spectacular night sky because of the light pollution, but it had been possible to enjoy fully it until two hundred years ago. Presently, we have to go to the most remote places and deserts, hundreds of kilometres away from towns, to try at least part of the deep emotion probably felt by our ancestors. They should have associated asterisms and constellations with the shapes of real or fantastic animals, and that would be attested by the myths and the legends handed down by many populations.