The arctic isn’t named after polar bears, but after the greek bear constellations which hold the north star. And the Antarctica is named after being the opposite of where the bear constellations are. It’s just a coincidence that the correct one has bears and the correct one doesn’t.
You’re going to name constellations after things that you know well, so the fact that there are a lot of bears relative to other megafauna in northern regions means that in a way the original idea still holds, just not quite as basic.
Chat, is this true?
The word Arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός arktikos “near the Bear, northern” and from the word ἄρκτος arktos meaning “bear” for either to the constellation known as Ursa Major, the “Great Bear”, which is prominent in the northern portion of the celestial sphere, or the constellation Ursa Minor, the “Little Bear”, which contains the celestial north pole (currently very near Polaris, the current north Pole Star, or North Star).
The arctic isn’t named after polar bears, but after the greek bear constellations which hold the north star. And the Antarctica is named after being the opposite of where the bear constellations are. It’s just a coincidence that the correct one has bears and the correct one doesn’t.
It’s still mind blowing, even if it is a coincidence.
You’re going to name constellations after things that you know well, so the fact that there are a lot of bears relative to other megafauna in northern regions means that in a way the original idea still holds, just not quite as basic.