Arcas’s Family Tree

About Arcas →

Family

• Leaneira(spouse),Apheidas(child),Elatus(child)— Marriage

  Arcas married Leaneira, daughter of Amyclas, and by her fathered Elatus and Apheidas, who divided the kingdom of Arcadia between them after their father's death.

• Callisto(parent),Zeus(parent)— Consort

  Zeus seduced Callisto by disguising himself as Artemis, fathering Arcas, the eponymous ancestor of the Arcadians and future king of Arcadia.

• Erato (dryad)(spouse),Azan(child)— Consort

  Arcas fathered Azan by the dryad nymph Erato, a prophetess of Pan. Azan gave his name to the Azanian region of Arcadia.

Guarded by

• Maia

  Maia raised the infant Arcas on Mount Cyllene after Hermes rescued him, serving as his foster mother during his earliest years.

Associated with

• Callisto

  When Arcas encountered his bear-transformed mother Callisto while hunting and nearly killed her, Zeus intervened at the last moment and placed them both among the stars as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

• Hermes

  After the infant Arcas was endangered by Lycaon's impiety, Hermes rescued the child and brought him to the Titaness Maia on Mount Cyllene to be raised in safety.

• Lycaon

  In Hyginus's account, Lycaon or his sons slaughtered the infant Arcas and served his flesh to Zeus at the impious banquet, testing the god's omniscience.

• Triptolemus

  Arcas learned the art of grain cultivation from Triptolemus and taught it to the Arcadians, who had previously subsisted on acorns and wild plants.

• Zeus

  Zeus intervened when Arcas was about to kill his bear-transformed mother Callisto, snatching them both from the earth and placing Arcas among the stars as the constellation Ursa Minor or Boötes.