The Dioscuri (Castor and Polydeuces)

Sons of Zeus

The Homeric Hymns call the Tyndaridae the sons of Zeus, born to Leda beneath Mount Taygetus in Sparta: Castor the horse-tamer and Polydeuces the boxer. Other traditions differ: the Odyssey calls both sons of Leda's husband Tyndareus, while Pindar divides them, making Castor mortal and Polydeuces the immortal son of Zeus.

Shared Immortality

That division drives their central myth. In Pindar's tenth Nemean Ode, Castor is killed in a feud with their cousins Idas and Lynceus. Polydeuces refuses immortality without his brother, and Zeus allows them to share it, spending alternate days among the gods and beneath the earth. The Odyssey already knows them as living and dying by turns.

Saviors at Sea

They sailed with the Argonauts, rescued their sister Helen from Theseus, and above all appeared to sailors in storms. The Homeric Hymn describes them darting through the air on tawny wings to calm the winds; later sailors identified the glow of St. Elmo's fire with them.

Cult in Sparta and Rome

Sparta honored them as protectors, and their symbol, the dokana of two upright beams joined by crossbars, went with Spartan kings to war. Rome adopted them early: the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Forum commemorated their legendary appearance at the Battle of Lake Regillus. They are the stars of the constellation Gemini.