Helike: an ancient name for the Great Bear

How a moon of Jupiter shares a name with one of the sky’s best-known constellations.

Published 2026-10-23

Long before it was a moon, Helike was a name for stars.^[5]

Aratus’s “turning” bear

The Greek poet Aratus called Ursa Major “Helike”, meaning turning or twisting, because it turns around the celestial pole.^[5]

The never-setting stars

The Odyssey notes it is the sole constellation that never sinks below the horizon, so it was used for navigation.^[5]

A big constellation

Ursa Major covers 1,279.7 square degrees — 3.102% of the sky — making it the third-largest of the 88 modern constellations.^[5]

The moon’s namesake

The moon itself is named after Helike the nymph, who nurtured the infant Zeus on Crete.^[1]

Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Helike overview page.