The arctic

Sámi constellations

The Sami have different constellations than those most widely known and drawn up by (amongst others) the Ancient Greeks. Sami people traditionally lived in close contact with nature and in northern regions of Scandinavia and Russia, with long & dark winters.

The Sami have lived on reindeer herding and hunting, and the Sami

Circumpolar constellations:

Polaris is the only star which keeps its place in the sky. All other stars and constellations ‘rotate’ around the pole once daily, counterclockwise (it is actually the earth which is rotating, but this is how it appears to us). While the sky as a whole rotates, the stars don’t change their position in relation to

Boreas: The north wind.  In classical times, the Arctic was seen as the deliverer of the north wind (Boreas),  bringing the ice and snow of winter with it to the south. So the arctic was a concept known to Mediterranean philosophers and Europeans long before any sailors ventured north to find it

Arctos: Bear in greek. Ursa major constellation.

Antarctic: No bear constellation.