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Castor [a] and Pollux [b] (or Polydeuces) [c] are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. [d]Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. [2]
This etymologically explains why their constellation, the Dioskouroi or Gemini, is only seen during one half of the year, as the twins split their time between the underworld and Mount Olympus. In an aboriginal tale, the same constellation represents the twin lizards who created the plants and animals and saved women from evil spirits.
Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for twins, and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek ...
In Greek mythology, Gemini is associated with the myth of Castor and Pollux, a pair of twins conceived by different fathers. Zeus, who seduced Leda and conceived Pollux while Tyndareus, the king of Sparta and Leda's husband, conceived Castor. When Castor died, because he was a mortal, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality ...
Articles relating to Castor and Pollux, their cult, and their depictions.Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who raped Leda in the guise of a swan.
See: Twins in mythology. Aegyptus and Danaus ; Aeolus and Boeotus ; Agenor and Belus ; Amphion and Zethus ; Apollo and Artemis/Diana ; Arsu and Azizos ; Ascalaphus and Ialmenus ; Atreus and Thyestes ; Ashvins ; Ašvieniai divine twins ; Cassandra and Helenus ; Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux are the two "heavenly twin" stars that give the constellation Gemini (meaning twins in Latin) its name. The name Castor refers specifically to Castor, one of the twin sons of Zeus and Leda in Greek and Roman mythology.
Greek rhetorician and grammar Athenaeus of Naucratis, in his work Deipnosophistae, Book II, cited that poet Ibycus, in his Melodies, described twins Eurytus and Cteatus as "λευκίππους κόρους" ("white-horsed youths") and said they were born from a silver egg, [47] [48] a story that recalls the myth of Greek divine twins Castor ...