Cynosura (nymph)
'dog's tail' κυνός οὐρά, pronounced [kynosǔːraː]) is the name of an Idaean Oread nymph from the island Crete who brought up a young Zeus during his early years when he hid from his father Cronus, and ended up among the stars.[1] Along with fellow nymph Helice, Cynosura put the infant Zeus in a cave and nurtured him in Ida, in Crete,[2][3] while the Dictaean Curetes deceived Cronus so he would not devour his son.[4][5] One day, Cronus happened to visit Crete, so Zeus hid the nymphs by transforming them both into bears, as he changed his shape into that of a dragon, in order to go undetected by Cronus.[6][7] Eventually, after he became king of the gods, he honoured his two nurses by placing them both in the sky as constellations, and Cynosura became Ursa Minor,[8] which was a common name for the constellation in Ancient Greece.[9] The most common origin myth for the two bear constellations, however, was that of Callisto, a follower of Artemis, and her son Arcas.