(), is sometimes called a daughter of Lycaon in
Arcadia and sometimes of Nycteus or Ceteus, and sometimes also she is described as a nymph.
(Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 1642; Poet. Astr. 2.1.) She was a huntress, and a
companion of Artemis. Zeus, however, enjoyed her charms; and, in order that the deed might not
become known to Hera, he metamorphosed her into a she-bear. But, notwithstanding this
precaution, Callisto was slain by Artemis during the chase, through the contrivance of Hera.
Arcas, the son of Callisto, was given by Zeus to Maia to be brought up, and Callisto was
placed among the stars under the name of Arctos. (Apollod. l.c.)
According to Hyginus, Artemis herself metamorphosed Callisto, as she discovered her pregnancy
in the bath. Ovid (Dor. 2.9.3) endeavours to show that
Callisto is only another form of the name of Artemis Calliste, as he infers from the fact,
that the tomb of the heroine was connected with the temple of the goddess, and from Callisto
being changed into a she-bear, which was the symbol of the Arcadian Artemis. This view has
indeed nothing surprising, if we recollect that in many other instances also an attribute of a
god was transformed by popular belief into a distinct divinity. Her being mixed up with the
Arcadian genealogies is thus explained by Müller: the daughter of Lycaon means the
daughter of the Lycaean Zeus; the mother of Arcas is equivalent to the mother of the Arcadian
people.