Editing Castor and Pollux (section)

{{Short description|Greek mythical twins}}
{{other uses}} {{redirect|Heavenly Twins}}
{{Infobox deity
| type         = Greek
| name         = Castor and Pollux καστωρ πολυδευκης
| deity_of     =Twin gods, patrons of sailors, associated with horsemanship
| member_of    = 
| image        = Castor Pollux anagoria.JPG
| alt          = <!-- for alternate text of the title image per [[WP:ALT]] -->
| caption      = Statues of Castor and Pollux (3rd century AD)
| other_names  = {{plainlist|
*Anakes
*Anaktes
*Dioskouroi (Latin, Dioscuri) 
*Gemini
*Castores
*Tyndarids
*Polydeuces (Latin, Pollux)
*The Two Gods}}
| cult_center  = [[Anakeion]]
| consort      = 
| parents      = {{plainlist|
*[[Leda (mythology)|Leda]] (mother)
*[[Tyndareus]] (father of Castor)
*[[Zeus]]–[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] (father of Pollux)}}
| siblings     =[[Timandra (mythology)|Timandra]], Phoebe, [[Philonoe]], [[Helen of Troy]] and [[Clytemnestra]]
| offspring    = 
| predecessor  =
| successor    =
| mount        = [[Horses]]
| gender       =Male
| Etruscan_equivalent            =  Kastur and Pultuce
| festivals    = {{plainlist|
* Anakeia or Anakeion
* Feast of the Dioskouroi (July 15)
}}
}}
'''Castor'''{{Refn | group = "lower-alpha" |{{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|s|t|ər}} {{respell|KAS|tər}}; {{langx|la|Castōr}}; {{langx|grc|Κάστωρ|Kástōr|beaver}}.}} and '''Pollux'''{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɒ|l|ə|k|s}} {{respell|POL|əks}}; {{langx|la|Pollūx|links=no}}.}} (or '''Polydeuces'''){{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɒ|l|ᵻ|ˈ|dj|uː|s|iː|z}} {{respell|POL|ih|DEW|seez}}; {{langx|grc|Πολυδεύκης|Polydeúkēs|much sweet [wine]|links=no}}.<ref>{{Citation | contribution = Dioscuri | last = Bloomsbury | title = Dictionary of Myth | place = London | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing | year = 1996}}</ref>}} are [[twin]] [[half-brother]]s in [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology]], known together as the '''Dioscuri''' or '''Dioskouroi'''.{{Refn | group = "lower-alpha" |{{IPAc-en|ˌ|d|aɪ|ə|ˈ|s|k|j|ʊər|aɪ|,_|d|aɪ|ˈ|ɒ|s|k|j|ʊ|r|aɪ|,_|-|r|i}} {{respell|DY|ə|SKURE|e(y)e|,_|dy|OSK|yuu|ry|,_-|ree}}; {{langx|la|Dioscūrī|links=no}}; {{langx|grc|Διόσκουροι|Dióskouroi|sons of Zeus|links=no}}, from ''Dîos'' ('[[Zeus]]') and ''[[Kouroi|koûroi]]'' ('boys').}}

Their mother was [[Leda (mythology)|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.<ref>Compare [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Castor 1.9.16]</ref> The pair are thus an example of heteropaternal [[superfecundation]]. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters [[Helen of Troy]] and [[Clytemnestra]].

In Latin, the twins are also known as the '''Gemini''' ("twins") or '''Castores''', as well as the '''Tyndaridae''' or '''Tyndarids'''.{{Refn | group = "lower-alpha" | {{langx|grc|Τυνδαρίδαι|Tundarídai|links=no}}.}} Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, and they were transformed into the constellation [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]]. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as [[St. Elmo's fire]]. They were also associated with horsemanship, in keeping with their origin as the [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European]] [[divine twins|horse twins]].