Boötes Mythology
Bootes the Hunter has since early times been associated with country pursuits - as hunter, ploughman or herdsman. As the ploughman of the Triones, he was said to be the son of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and was given a place in the sky for inventing the plow. In Homer’s Odyssey, he is referred to as Wagoner or Driver of the Wain. He is also called the Herdsman and since the seventeenth century the figure has been associated with the hunting dogs (Canes Venatici) charted by Helvelius, and with his Hounds (Canes Venatici), he eternally circles the Bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, around the North Pole. In fact, the brightest star in Boötes is Arcturus, which can be loosely translated as "Bear Guard." In more recent times he is thought to be the Driver of Asterion and Chara in their pursuit of the Bear (Ursa Major) around the pole.