So as an Antarctic expert I need to add to this that we had not in fact been to Antarctica when it was named. The ancient Greeks decided that because there was an Arctic at the top of the world, with bears, there had to be an opposite at the other end, without bears. Which is kind of ridiculous except that the fuckers were dead on
It's in reference to the Ursa Major/Minor, the constellation! Not literal bears. The bear constellations are Northmost, so they named that area after the bear constellations. Antarctica is the end of the world opposite the bear constellations.
The fact that the Arctic contains bears and the Antarctic does not is simply a really fun coincidence.
[Wikipedia]


















