Are they an engineering firm, estate agents or chemical industrialists involved in genetics? No — they are half-brothers known as the Dioscuri, although genetics are very much involved.

Both were sons of Leda, her husband Tyndareos and Zeus as a swan. Plus two daughters.

Here is where it gets tricky as the Godlets were all hatched from an egg. We did tell you Zeus was a swan at the time. The egg was a double yolker with Castor and his sister Clytemnestra being in Tyn’s portion and Pollux and Helen with Zeus’s egg on their faces.

The Dioscuri popped up everywhere doing valiant deeds, saving Helen from fates worse than death, adventuring with the Argonauts, biffing away in battles and walking off with the prizes at sporting events.

They did get a bit above themselves and assumed they could walk off with anything they wanted. What they wanted at this time were the two daughters of one King Leucippus. So they took them — but he took off after them, together with the fellows they just happened to be betrothed to at the time.

The furious pursuit ended in a savage fracas and Castor got diced up, which was a nasty surprise as he found he was not immortal. Pollux was only saved from slaughter by Zeus snatching him up before he bled to death. “He’s one of mine!” he roared, “and I invoke the immortality clause!”

Pollux was so upset at his brother’s death, he didn’t wish to continue. The only way Zeus could console him was to let Castor be immortal every other day. Which must be somewhat unsettling.

You would think this would be an end to them — but no. All their legendary exploits were exaggerated and expanded until they became Godly Celebrities. The Romans were thrilled to re-cast them in a repeat series with their own catchphrase. By Castor and Pollux! became a much-used oath of oafs.

As horse lovers, they were granted their own equestrian festival on 15th of July, and may even have toured abroad under the Divine Horse Twins banner, popping up in other mythologies such as the Hindu Ashvins and Baltic Ašvieniai. They were given a prime site temple in Rome facing that of Vesta. So don’t lose heart — all you need is a few connections and a little intervention from above.

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Article last revised on September 06, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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