Callisto (mythology)

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Diana and Callisto
( Dosso Dossi , 1528, Borghese Gallery , Rome)

Callisto ( Greek  Καλλιστώ , "the fairest", Latin Callisto ) was in Greek mythology a nymph from the world of hunting and nature goddess Artemis . She was seduced or raped by Zeus . Due to the (involuntary) mating with Zeus, she became pregnant and, out of jealousy, was transformed by Hera into a she-bear and later transferred to the firmament as a constellation .

myth

Callisto is the daughter of King Lykaon from Arcadia . The Greek tradition is, however, incomplete. The best-known and best-preserved depiction of their legend comes from the Roman poet Ovid , who tells the myth both in his Fasti and in his Metamorphoses . In both versions, Callisto is raped by Jupiter .

The myth after the metamorphoses of Ovid

After Phaeton has caused severe damage in the world and in the sky, the almighty father Jupiter checks the extent of the damage and, if necessary, restores damaged parts of the landscape. Here is his Arcadia especially at heart. In precisely this Arcadia he sees a virgin who is not only beautiful, but also quickly turns out to be a nymph of the goddess Diana through appearance and behavior . Jupiter waits until the beautiful nymph, exhausted from the hunt and the midday heat, lies down to rest. He wants to take advantage of her exhaustion immediately. In contrast to Io, whom he previously drove to flight through direct address, he now takes the form of Diana, who is loyal to Callisto. Thus the nymph has no suspicions and is taken by surprise by the "false Diana":

Protinus induitur faciem cultumque Dianae

atque ait: "o comitum, virgo, pars una mearum,

in quibus es venata iugis? “de caespite virgo

se levat et "salve numen, me iudice" dixit,

“Audiat ipse licet, maius Iove.” Ridet et audit

et sibi praeferri se gaudet et oscula iungit

nec moderata satis nec sic a virgine danda.

qua venata foret silva narrare parantem

impedit amplexu, nec se sine crimine prodit.

Illa quidem contra, quantum modo femina posset

(adspiceres utinam, Saturnia: mitior esses),

illa quidem pugnat; sed quem superare puella,

quisve Iovem poterat?

Immediately he assumes the face and shape of Diana

and speaks to her: "My companion, virgin, part of my guard,

In which areas have you been hunting? ”From the meadow rises the

Virgo and says: "Greetings, Goddess, whom I judge you -

let him hear it himself - be greater than Jupiter. ”He hears it, laughs

and is happy to be preferred to herself and gives to her

Kisses, neither decent enough nor the way a virgin gives them

should. She is ready to tell which forest she was hunting in, yes

he hinders her by a hug and shows he is criminal

real me. Of course she defends herself as much as a woman does

is possible (if only you had seen it, Juno, you would have been milder),

of course she fights; but who could a girl

who could conquer Jupiter anyway?

Callisto's personality is now completely changed. She almost flees from the real Diana because she fears Jupiter again. However, she notices that the other nymphs who follow the goddess are the real Diana. But although she was previously, so to speak, the right hand of the goddess, she is now quiet and withdrawn. Neither the change in character nor the pregnancy is registered by Diana. At least for the latter, her own virginity offers the explanation (the other nymphs, however, noticed the pregnancy, which is why they had erotic experiences despite their vows of chastity.) Callisto even succeeds in concealing her unwanted pregnancy until shortly before the delivery. When she takes a bath with Diana and the other nymphs, however, she hesitates, so that the other nymphs tear her clothes away and reveal her womb. Diana immediately casts her away.

After Kallisto gave birth to their son Arkas shortly afterwards , Juno came on the scene. The wife of Kallistos Schänder was already ominously announced in the rape scene and was therefore jealously contemplating revenge, for which there is no longer any need to delay:

Senserat hoc olim magni matrona Tonantis

distuleratque graves in idonea tempora poenas.

causa morae nulla est, et iam puer Arcas (id ipsum

indoluit Iuno) fuerat de paelice natus.

quo simul obvertit saevam cum lumine mentem,

"Scilicet hoc unum restabat, adultera" dixit,

“Ut fecunda fores fieretque iniuria partu

nota Iovisque mei testatum dedecus esset.

haud impune feres; adimam tibi namque figuram

qua tibi quaque places nostro, importuna, marito. "

The wife of the great thunderer once found out about this

and waited for the appropriate time with severe punishments.

There is no need to wait because the boy became Arcas

(which pained Juno itself) born of the rival.

In doing so, she turned her attention to them with an angry mind

and said: "That was just missing, you adulteress,

that you get pregnant and the wrong by giving birth

known and testified to the shame of my Jupiter.

In no case will you get away with it, because I will take your form

by which you and my husband please you so much, you unabashed piece. "

So Juno reverses the guilt from Jupiter to Callisto and, according to her threat, transforms the beautiful nymph into a hideous she-bear. As such, her change in character, which was already evident immediately after the rape, is visualized. Although she is now a bear, she fears supposed conspecifics, even the wolves among whom her father Lykaion (λύκος [lykos], ancient Greek for 'wolf') lives, she fears.

When Callisto meets her son Arkas, who is now a hunter, after fifteen years, she wants to hug him, but he wants to kill the supposedly wild animal. Jupiter intervenes and puts Callisto as the constellation of the Great Bear and Arkas as that of the Little Bear in the sky. Juno is angry again. With an absurd speech that Callisto would push her out of her marital bed and take her place as Queen of Olympus, she got Oceanus and Tethys to ensure that the two constellations should never immerse themselves in the refreshing sea; hence they become circumpolar constellations.

Reception of the Ovid tradition

The Callistomyth according to Ovid served as a source of inspiration for many visual artists, authors and musicians. However, Konrad Heldmann points out that artists often turn rape into an erotic love story and depict Zeus as a glamorous seducer instead of a molester. This transfiguration goes so far that even renowned reference works do not speak clearly enough or not at all of rape.

Representation in art

Titian : Diana and Callisto , 1556–1559
Rembrandt van Rijn : The Bath of Diana with Actaeon and Callisto , 1635

Visual arts

music

Kallisto as namesake

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Katharina Waldner: Callisto . In: Hubert Cancik , Helmuth Schneider (ed.): The new Pauly. Encyclopedia of Antiquity . tape 6 . Stuttgart & Weimar 1999, p. 205 .
  2. ↑ Hesiod : astronomica. Quoted from Eratosthenes : Catasterismi.
  3. ↑ Ada Adler: Callisto . In: Wilhelm Kroll (Hrsg.): Paulys Realenzyklopädie der classischen antiquity . tape 10 , no. 20 . Stuttgart 1919, p. 1727 .
  4. ↑ P. Ovidius Naso: Metamorphoses (Book II, 425-437) .
  5. ↑ Shawn O'Bryhm: Ovid's version of Callisto's Punishment . In: Hermes . No. 118 , 1990, pp. 77 .
  6. ↑ P. Ovidius Naso: Metamorphosen, Book II, 466-475 .
  7. ↑ Konrad Heldmann: Jupiter and Callisto . In: Andreas Heil, Matthias Korn, Jochen Sauer (Eds.): Noctes Sinenses . Heidelberg 2011, p. 51-58 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Kallisto  - collection of images, videos and audio files