Source Verification: Callisto

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

What did Zeus do to Callisto?

He wronged her against her will. In Apollodorus he shared her bed disguised as Artemis or, as others say, as Apollo, and then turned her into a bear to hide her from Hera. In Ovid, Jupiter takes Diana's form and Calisto cannot resist him. Ovid's Jupiter later saves her and her son from Juno's rage, and Apollodorus has him set her among the stars as the Bear.

Source: Apollodorus, Library 3.8.2

Were Artemis and Callisto lovers?

The sources do not say so. Callisto is a companion of the goddess who swears to stay a maiden, and Ovid says Diana loved her more than any other on Mount Maenalus. What Ovid gives is affection and trust, and his Jupiter uses that trust: he takes Diana's form to approach her. Apollodorus has Zeus take Artemis's form, or Apollo's, in some tellings.

Source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.401-465

How did Zeus seduce Callisto?

The sources describe deception and force, not seduction. Ovid's Jupiter finds Calisto asleep, takes Diana's form and wakes her, and she resists him and cannot escape. Apollodorus says he shared her bed against her will, in the likeness of Artemis or, some say, Apollo. The Fasti says she suffered Jove unwillingly.

Source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.401-465

What did Hera do to Callisto?

In Ovid, Juno seizes Calisto by the hair after her son is born and turns her into a bear, with claws, black hair and a growl for a voice. In Pausanias, Hera turns her into a bear and Artemis shoots it to please Hera. In Apollodorus, Zeus makes her a bear, and Hera persuades Artemis to shoot her as a wild animal.

Source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.466-530

What happened to Callisto in Greek mythology?

She is wronged by Zeus, bears Arcas, and is changed into a bear. Ovid has her live as a bear for years, until her son almost spears her and Jupiter carries them both to the sky. Apollodorus and Pausanias have Artemis shoot her, and Zeus rescues the child and sets Callisto among the stars as the Bear.

Source: Apollodorus, Library 3.8.2

What is Callisto known for?

She is known as the nymph turned into a bear and set in the sky as the Great Bear, and as the mother of Arcas. Her name is also on the fourth of Jupiter's large moons, which Galileo found in 1610. Pausanias notes that Arcadians also showed a grave for her.

Source: Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.3.6-7

Where Accounts Differ

who Callisto's father was
who turned Callisto into a bear
which form Zeus took
whether Artemis shot the bear
who saved Arcas
whether the Great Bear is Callisto

Callisto's parentage differs. Apollodorus reports Eumelus and others making her a daughter of Lycaon, Hesiod calling her a nymph, Asius a daughter of Nycteus and Pherecydes a daughter of Ceteus (Library 3.8.2). Pausanias makes her Lycaon's daughter (8.3.6). Frazer's note records that the Tegean historian Araethus made the mother of Arcas a granddaughter of Lycaon named Megisto.
Who turns her into a bear differs. Apollodorus has Zeus do it to hide her from Hera (Library 3.8.2). Ovid has Juno do it after Arcas is born (Metamorphoses 2.466-530; Fasti 2.155-192). Pausanias has Hera do it (8.3.6).
Whether she is killed differs. Apollodorus and Pausanias have Artemis shoot the bear, at Hera's persuasion, and Apollodorus adds that some say Artemis shot her for losing her maidenhood. In Ovid nobody shoots her, and Jupiter carries her into the sky alive before Arcas can strike.
The form Zeus took differs. Ovid's Jupiter takes Diana's form (Metamorphoses 2.401-465). Apollodorus says the likeness of Artemis or, as others say, of Apollo (Library 3.8.2). The Fasti mentions no disguise.
What becomes of Arcas differs. Apollodorus has Zeus snatch the baby after her death and give him to Maia in Arcadia. Pausanias has Zeus send Hermes to save the child from her womb. Ovid has Arcas born before the change, and meeting the bear at fifteen, when Jupiter saves both.
Whether the constellation is her is a doubt in Pausanias, who says it may only be named for her, because Arcadians point out her grave (8.3.7).
The Fasti passage is cited from the Latin text on Perseus. It is unmapped in the source registry, so the reference is not machine-checked. The Metamorphoses references were read in the Brookes More translation on Perseus, which spells her name Calisto; this page uses Callisto.

Sources

Primary sources

Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.401-465
Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.466-530
Ovid, Fasti 2.155-192
Apollodorus, Library 3.8.2
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.3.6-7