#Id love to do an in depth examination of Kallisto one day

[theoihalioistuff]

"In regard to myth, although there does not exist a female equivalent of the well-known loves between a god and a young mortal (e.g., Apollo and Hyacinthus), a motif of interest appears in the story of Callisto: according to one variation, attested by scholia on Hesiod and Aratos, Zeus adopts the guise of Artemis in order to engage in a sexual relationship with the goddess’s preferred companion." Oxford Classical Dictionary, Female Homosexuality, Sandra Boehringer

This first surviving mention that Zeus disguised himself as Artemis in order to approach Kallisto is (quite upsettingly) from a lost comedy by Amphis (4th C. BC), where the butt of the joke is that a naive Kallisto accuses Artemis of having gotten her pregnant:

"But as Amphis, writer of comedies, says, Zeus, assuming the form of Artemis, followed the girl as if to aid her in hunting, and embraced her when out of sight of the rest. Questioned by Artemis as to the reason for her swollen form, she replied that it was the goddess' fault, and because of this reply, Artemis changed her into the shape we mentioned above [bear]." (Amphis fr. 47 Kock, as quoted in Hyginus Astronomica 2.1.2)

Whether Zeus' disguise was invented by Amphis for "comedic effect" or was part of an earlier tradition is a matter of conjecture, but it is certainly well attested later on and by roman times it had become the most popular variant.

(Amphis fr. 46 [Schol. Aratus 37-44]; Hyg. Poet. Astr. 2.1.2; cf. Apollod. Bibl. 3.100f.; Nonnus Dion. 2.122f., 33.288-92, 36.66-74; Ov. Met. 2.401-530; Schol. Callim. Hymn 1.41; Schol. Lycoph. Alex. 481).

~Artistic sources for Kallisto's transformation are very sparse, which I think is kind of a pity considering how hauntingly beautiful and awesome surviving images are (in order):

LIMC Kallisto 5, Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Kallisto transforming into a bear.

LIMC Kallisto 18, Sammlung Herbert A. Cahn Basel. Bear-headed boy next to bear-headed woman, most likely Arkas and Kallisto.

LIMC Kallisto 7, Private Collection. Kallisto with the infant Arkas on her lap.

LIMC Kallisto 6, J. Paul Getty Museum Malibu. Huntsman, Kallisto turning into a bear, Hermes rescuing the infant Arkas.