Kastor

[kastor]

In Greek (Kastor) and Roman mythology (Castor and Pollux) or Polydeuces ( Polydeukes) were twin brothers, together known as the Dioskouri.

Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, whom seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. 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 or Castores. When Castor was killed, 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. The pair was regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo's fire and were also associated with horsemanship. They are sometimes called the Tyndaridae or Tyndarids, later seen as a reference to their father and stepfather Tyndareus.