The Legend of Boötes Boötes: sometimes called the herdsman and sometimes the plowman, its legends depend strongly on the time period during which it is identified. Greek legend places it within the mythologies of Callisto, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Legends prior to the classical Greek myths sprang up during the third millennium BC when the constellation was circumpolar and Thuban, a star in Draco, was the pole star.
Saharan legend, 5744 BC: at this time the star forming the head of the constellation was the pole star. As a result, the body perfectly aligned with the meridian at midnight on each of the solstices and equinoxes. This important position would logically be held by the Titan, Atlas, who held the world on his shoulders. The tradition of Atlas was adapted into Greek mythology from earlier stories placing the garden of the Hesperides within the borders of the Sahara Desert. As the precession of the axis shifted the pole star away from this constellation, its mythology shifted as well. See the Greek legend of Hercules.
Greece: connections with the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine, are made in Early Greek legends. Later stories connect Boötes with Ursa Major. Icarius was the first man to learn the cultivation of grapes and their fermentation into wine. Icarius, after his death, was placed in the sky by Dionysus in celebration of the development of fermentation and wine. His dog, Maera, became the bright star Procyon.The legend of the Great Bear explains the naming of the bright star, Arcturus, in Boötes. Literally, the bear protector, Arcturus follows the constellation, supposedly the heavenly version of his mother, Callisto. See the Greek legends of Ursa Major.
Another story refers to how the goddess of cultivation, Demeter, lay with the Titan Iasion and produced two sons, Plutus and Philomelus. The brothers never agreed on anything. Plutus was wealthy and never gave his brother assistance. Philomelus invented the wagon and used his profits to buy two oxen. These he used to plow and cultivate fields. In recognition of Philomelus' ingenuity, Demeter raised him to the skies as Boötes, the plowman, with the Big Dipper as his plow.
Rome: seen as a plowman, Boötes followed the stars of the plow, a constellation derived from the asterism known today as the Big Dipper.Back to the Constellations
