A final episode was when the brothers, initially on a cattle-rustling expedition, abducted Phoebe and Hilaeira, the daughters of Leucippus. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 10 Jun 2016. Semi-divine figures, they were credited with the role of saving those in trouble at sea or in grave danger in war and were particularly associated with horses and sports. The ceremony or rite called theoxenia was often linked to the twins too. Pollux and Castor’s cousins discovered they were trying to steal the cattle back. Many of the hunting party turned on each other over the spoils, ironically extending the goddess’ punishment of the people. Castor was wounded and killed while Pollux was saved when his father, Zeus, threw a thunderbolt at the cousin trying to kill Pollux. The twins were excellent huntsmen and formed part of the party that killed the vicious monster, the Calydonian boar. They accompanied Meleager on his Calydonian boar hunt and went with Jason and the other Argonauts on their successful search for the Golden Fleece. After a fire destroyed the original, a new temple was built on the site in the 1st century BCE. They also protected humans in danger during war times and at sea. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. The Spartans even had a tradition of having two princes in honor of the brothers. Related Content Written by Mark Cartwright, published on 10 June 2016 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.
Ancient History Encyclopedia. The names Castor and Pollux have been used in many television and film productions, including an opera, in the movie the Hunger Games, in books by Percy Jackson and in the TV series Orphan Black, where male clones are called Castor and their female equivalents, Leda. Castor and Pollux nonetheless kidnapped the two women and took them to Sparta, where each bore their husband a son. Together they are known as the Dioscuri from the original Greek form, the Dioskouroi, meaning ‘youths of Zeus’, as the great god was considered their immortal father after he disguised himself as a swan and seduced Leda. Castor and Pollux. Pollux, though, was the son of Zeus, who disguised himself as a swan in order to seduce Leda, making Pollux a demigod, unlike his human brother. In both art and literature, Pollux and his brother were shown with horses, as the two were famed horsemen. In Italy the cult of the twins went back to the mid-6th century BCE. He abducted her and took her to Attica. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark.
"Castor and Pollux."
When Theseus, the king of Attica, kidnapped their sister Helen, the brothers rescued her and kidnapped Theseus’s mother, forcing her to become Helen’s slave as an act of revenge. They were also often shown with various symbols of twinhood, such as wood put together at crossbeams, two vases, two shields or two snakes.
Temple of Castor & Polluxby Dcastor (Public Domain). Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. License. In some images, the twins are shown wearing skull caps, which are thought the be the egg shells from which they hatched. His mother was the princess Leda, whom he shared with Castor.
They were worshiped in Rome and Greece, where many temples venerated them. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Castor_and_Pollux/.
The twins were supposedly born from an egg after Zeus, disguised as a swan seduced Leda. The twins were conceived on the same night but by different fathers. Pollux was heartbroken without his brother. He then spent half his time in Hades and half on Mount Olympus, as his twin did conversely. Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, was the father of Castor (hence a mortal), while Zeus was the father of Pollux (a demigod). Idas was stopped at the last second from killing Pollux by Zeus. Every 15th of July the temple was the focus of a cavalry parade - the transvectio - of 5,000 men led by two impersonators of the heroes who commemorated the victory at Regillus. The twins wanted to marry two women, Hilaeira and Phoebe, but both of the ladies were promised in marriage to the twin’s cousins already. Books As a demigod, he was immortal, but he begged his father to give half of his immortality to Castor.
It was during this latter adventure that Pollux out-boxed the prodigiously strong Amycus, king of the Bebryces. Sparta, where warfare was fundamental to the culture, claimed the twins were from the city, but they were also popular in Lokris and Athens. For the Romans the twins were the offspring of Jupiter and Leda; both were particularly associated with cavalry and Castor was adopted by the Roman knights (equites) for their patron. This caused great strife in the family and resulted in the start of a feud. Often the stranger would be a deity in disguise, who would then reward them. Then again, in Homer’s Iliad both are treated as dead, explaining their association with the Underworld. Pollux, also known as Polydeuces in Greek mythology, was one half of Dioscuri with his twin brother Castor. In reference to their father or stepfather, the twins were also known as the Tyndaridae. They were particularly popular in Sparta, where they were said to be born. Built between 480 and 460 BCE, it originally had 6 columns on each facade and 13 along the longer sides. During the battle two young men riding white horses were said to have appeared and guided the Romans to victory and then were seen again after the battle watering their horses at the Juturna Spring in Rome, hence the subsequent dedication to the famous cavalry twins and choice of location for the temple next to the fountain in the Forum. More definitely, the Dioscuri had a sanctuary dedicated to them on the island of Delos. https://www.ancient.eu/Castor_and_Pollux/. The twins were considered the protectors of the home and hospitality, oaths, friendship, and sporting activities. Olympus and Hades. Many Roman coins depicted the pair as cavalry riders. Paris took advantage of everybody’s absence and kidnapped the exquisite Helen, thereby starting the Trojan War. Zeus gave Pollux the choice to save his brother, by giving away half of his most prized possession, his immortality, and Pollux accepted. Rome also had a temple dedicated to the Dioscuri in the Circus Flaminius, and there were temples at Assisi, Cori, Naples, and Tusculum. Pollux and Castor fell in love with a set of sisters who were already involved with their cousins. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux (known as Polydeuces to the Greeks) were twin brothers who appeared in several prominent myths. Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri) are figures from Greek and Roman mythology considered the twin sons of Zeus or Jupiter. The twins were worshiped as gods who helped shipwrecked sailors and who brought favorable winds for those who made sacrifices to them.
The twins saw the chance to take revenge on their cousins, who had stolen their cattle, and left to go and steal Idas and Lynceus’ herd. The cousins retaliated by stealing some of the family’s cattle. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Castor was the son of King Tyndareus of Sparta, Leda’s husband. Castor and Polluxby Dan Diffendale (CC BY-NC-SA). Ancient History Encyclopedia. The sculpture showed episodes from the Argonaut and Leucippus stories. Castor & Pollux protected warriors & sailors, especially those in life-threatening situations when they would often appear in person. Castor and Pollux went to rescue their sister, invaded the king’s land and managed to retrieve her. The twins took Theseus’ mother as revenge and even put the king’s rival on the throne. In art, the twins were frequently depicted on their horses, carrying spears. "Castor and Pollux."
Divine Institutions: Religions and Community in the Middle Roman Republic... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. They also helped Jason to bring down the city of Ioclus to punish King Pelias for his treason. In Homer’s Iliad, Trojan priest, Dares Phrygius, described the twins as well-built with blond hair and big eyes. Cartwright, Mark. In paintings, or sculpture, the twins can frequently be recognized by the skull caps they wear, fragments of the egg they hatched out of.
When they appeared at sea, to rescue those in danger, they were said to appear as St. Elmo’s fire, a glowing white or green light on the top of a tall object. Castor and Pollux, also called the Dioscuri, meaning youths of Zeus, were The animal had been sent as punishment by the goddess Artemis, because the king had not honored her. He tried unsuccessfully to pursue an amazon queen, Antiope, and granddaughters of Zeus, Phaedra, and Ariadne. The brothers were linked with Sparta especially and had their own temples in Athens and on Delos. Castor was a brilliant horse tamer and Pollux, a skilled boxer.
Cite This Work As the Gemini, they were able to move between Olympus, the home of the gods and goddesses, and Hades, the underworld. Castor and Pollux, or Kastor and Polydeukes in Ancient Greek, were twin sons of Queen Leda of Sparta; Leda being the wife of King Tyndareus. Their mother was Leda, a queen of Sparta. Pollux and Castor had different fathers, though. In other versions of the myth, Pollux and his twin brother were hatched from an egg, like their sisters Helen and Clymenestra. Castor was the son of King Tyndareus of Sparta, Leda’s husband. He didn’t give up on his quest though and next sought out an even more valued prize; Helen of Troy. Zeus granted the request and the twins were turned into the constellation known as Gemini, one of the major constellations of astrology. Pollux, also known as Polydeuces in Greek mythology, was one half of Dioscuri with his twin brother Castor.
In figure sculpture, the twins proudly stand today either side of the steps leading up to the Capitoline Museums in Rome. Castor and Pollux were important across Greece but especially the Peloponnese.
Pollux and Castor had different fathers, though. The twins kidnapped the girls and returned to Sparta, which caused problems within the family. When Pollux and Castor followed to get their cattle back, they took their sister Helen with them. In Greek mythology, the Dioscuri were the twin brothers Castor and Pollux (also called Polydeuces). In most Greek mythology, Pollux features alongside his brother. Theseus, the king of Athens, was in search of a suitable wife.
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