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Castor and Pollux

We are Castor and Pollux, the sons of Zeus and Man, one of us is human and one is divine.

As brothers we are both brave and clever warriors. When one dies, one is spending a little holiday on Olympus with the gods, the other gets a turn being a mortal man on earth. We change places. Each time we change places, we get to spend a little more time together, to exchange notes.

For love and not adventure, we aspired to marry Phoebe and Hilaeira, the daughters of Leucippus, the White Horse. We carried our brides, Phoebe and Hilaeria to Sparta our home where Phoebe bore Mnesileos to Pollux and Hilaeria bore Anogon to Castor. These were our children's names.

We were both excellent horsemen and hunters who participated in the hunting of the Calydonian Boar and later joined the crew in Jason's ship, the Argo. During our tour with the Argonauts, Pollux took part in a boxing contest and defeated King Amycus of Bebryces. We also helped Jason and Peleus to destroy the city of Iolcus in revenge for the treachery of its king Pelias.

Once, Castor climbed a tree to keep a watch as Pollux began to free cattle, after all the cattle belonged to us. Our cousins stole from us. Far away, Idas and Lynceus approached. Lynceus, named for the lynx because he could see in the dark, spied Castor hiding in the tree. Idas and Lynceus immediately understood what was happening. Idas, furious, ambushed Castor, fatally wounding him with a blow from his spear--but not before Castor called out to warn Pollux. In the ensuing brawl, Pollux killed Lynceus and, as Idas was about to kill Pollux, Zeus his father, who had been watching from Mt. Olympus, hurled a lightning bolt, killing Idas and saving his son.

I, Pollux, returned to Castor who was dying and gave half of my immortality to my mortal brother.
Created by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 06-19-11 10:02 PM
Last Modified by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 06-19-11 10:02 PM