On this post I describe a lonely stone bear perched atop the ancient MountâŻĹlÄĹźaâan enduring symbol that has been revered for millennia as a special place where sunâworshipping peoples once gathered. The author explains that the bearâs form comes from Celtic tradition, probably the Boii tribe of the Iron Age, and represents the goddess Artio who sleeps in winter, awakens in spring, transforms into a bear, and ascends to become a constellationâan image echoed by Greek Artemis and Roman Diana. The narrator then recalls his own childhood experience of playing the bear in a school play, complete with a mask, and finishes with memories of simple adventures along the mountainâs trails with his dog Budrys, always watching the mistâshrouded SĹÄĹźa and Artio from afar.






















