Bear is derived from the Celtic word for "bear", "artos". In ancient Greece, archaic cult of Artemis in bear form survived into Classical times at Brauron, where young Athenian girls passed an initiation right as "arktai" "she bears". For Artemis and one of her nymphs as a she-bear, see the myth of Callisto. The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the great and little bears, are named for their supposed resemblance to bears, from the time of Ptolemy. The nearby star Arcturus means "guardian of the bear", as if it were watching the two constellations. Ursa Major has been associated
Ursa Major to his house required crossing a stream. The seven sons, sympathetic to their mother, placed stepping stones in the river. Their mother, not knowing who put the stones in place, blessed them and, when they died, they became the constellation. In Shinto, the seven largest stars of Ursa Major belong to Amenominakanushi, the oldest and most powerful of all kami. In China and Japan, the Big Dipper is called the "North Dipper" (Chinese: "běidǒu", Japanese: "hokuto"), and in ancient times, each one of the seven stars had a specific name, often coming themselves from ancient China: In Theosophy, it is