Constellation Bootes?

Question

who is the constellation Bootes named after

Answer 1

http://www.coldwater.k12.mi.us/lms/planetarium/myth/bootes.html

Greek: herdsman
Boötes is generally referred to as the Bear Watcher, since it appears to be watching over the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. It contains the third brightest star in the night sky

Answer 2

One version from Greek mythology says that it represents the herdsman who invented the plough for agriculture. This pleased Ceres (goddess of agriculture -- the word cereal comes from her name) so much she made sure he got a place in heaven.

In another myth, he is simply a herdsman ploughing a field, with his oxen tied to the pole: the oxens are pulling the sky around once per day.

(I know, the Ancient Greeks did not actually believe these stories, but they made great stories for the kids and made it easy to teach constellations AND some celestial mechanics at the same time... and reminded them of the names of all their countless gods and goddesses)

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Pandasex: yep. Another part of the mythology. Establishes a link between Bootes and Ursa Major, making it easier to identify Bootes in the sky (assuming that Ursa Major is the easier one to find).

Similar to the story of the Dragon that was put by Hera in between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, to prevent Mama Bear from getting closer to her baby bear, thus condemning heer to circle the sky forever. This makes it easier to find the Dragon.

Answer 3

Including the fainter stars, Boötes appears to be a large human figure, looking toward Ursa Major [1]. Exactly whom Boötes is supposed to represent is not clear. According to one version, he was a ploughman who drove the oxen in the constellation Ursa Major using his two dogs Chara and Asterion (from the constellation Canes Venatici). The oxen were tied to the polar axis and so the action of Boötes kept the heavens in constant rotation.

Boötes was also supposed to have invented the plough. This is said to have greatly pleased Ceres, the goddess of agriculture who asked Jupiter to give Boötes a permanent fixture in the heavens as a reward for doing this.

Another version portrays Boötes as a grape grower called Icarius, who one day invited the Roman god Bacchus, also called Dionysus, to inspect his vineyards. Bacchus revealed the secret of wine making to Icarius, who was so impressed by this alcoholic beverage that he invited his friends round to sample it. Having never tasted wine before, they all drank too much and woke up the next morning with terrible hangovers; and they made the mistaken assumption that Icarius had tried to poison them. It was decided that Icarius should pay the price with his own life, and he was swiftly murdered in his sleep. Bacchus placed Icarius in the stars to honor him.

Following another reading the constellation is identified with Arcas, son of Zeus and Callisto. Arcas was brought up by his maternal grandfather Lycaon, to whom one day Zeus went and had a meal. To verify that the guest was really the king of the gods, Lycaon killed his grandson and prepared a meal made from his flesh. Zeus noticed and became very angry, transforming Lycaon into a wolf and gave back life to his son.

In the meantime Callisto had been transformed into a she-bear, by Zeus' wife, Hera, who was angry at Zeus' infidelity. When he was grown up, Arcas met with the she-bear and, since obviously he didn't recognize her as his mother, he began to chase Callisto. Callisto, followed by Arcas, sheltered herself in a temple, a sacred place whose profaners were convicted to death. To avoid such fate, Zeus decided to set them in the sky, Arcas as Boötes and Callisto as Ursa Major.

This is a rare version of the myth surrounding Ursa Major, as the myth usually holds that Arcas is transformed into a bear as well (becoming Ursa Minor), and in such versions Boötes has no part. Ursa Minor, and Ursa Major, are constellations whose identification only originated in later classical Greece, and in Rome, and as such Boötes kept separate associations dating from much earlier.

Boötes was considered to be Atlas by some ancient Greek legends, as well as those in other early mediterranean cultures, since it takes an appropriate position in the sky (its arms near the pole star, but its body standing on/near the ecliptic). As such, together with earlier interpretations of other constellations in the zodiac sign of libra (i.e. of Draco (constellation), Ursa Major and Ursa Minor it may have formed the origin of the myth of the apples of the Hesperides, which forms part of The Twelve Labours of Herakles.