Maia Callisto with Zeus. Wronged by the love affair, Zeus' wife Hera in a jealous rage had transformed Callisto into a bear. Arcas is the eponym of Arcadia, where Maia was born. The story of Callisto and Arcas, like that of the Pleiades, is an "aition" for a stellar formation, the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great and Little Bear. Her name is related to μαῖα ("maia"), an honorific term for older women related to μήτηρ ("mētēr") 'mother'. "Maia" also means "midwife" in Greek. In ancient Roman religion and myth, Maia embodied the concept of growth, as her name
Religion in China and David Pankenier relate the shapes of both the ancient Chinese characters for Di and Tian to the patterns of stars in the northern skies, either drawn, in Didier's theory by connecting the constellations bracketing the north celestial pole as a square, or in Pankenier's theory by connecting some of the stars which form the constellations of the Big Dipper and broader Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). Cultures in other parts of the world have also conceived these stars or constellations as symbols of the origin of things, the supreme godhead, divinity and royal power. By the 6th