The twins also sailed with the hero Jason on the Argo, and during the voyage Pollux killed the evil king Amycus in a boxing match. During their adventures at sea, Poseidon, according to one version, made the twins protectors of sailors and calmers of storms and waves. Greek sailors would later pray to the twins for safe voyages. It was also thought that Castor and Pollux appeared as part of the
Right: This 17th-century painting by Peter Paul Rubens, a Flemish artist, depicts Castor and Pollux abducting the daughters of Leucippus, Pheobe and Hilaeira.
Natural phenomenon now known as Saint Elmo’s fire, a luminous electrical discharge that is usually seen by sailors or from an aircraft during storms.
After their adventures with the Argonauts, the Dioscuri, along with other Greek heroes, took part in the legendary Calydonian boar hunt. They then returned to their native Sparta, where they abducted and raped (some versions say married) two women. Pheobe and Hilaeira were the daughters of Leucippus, and to avenge the rapes,
Leucippus’s nephews, Idas and Lynceus, attacked and killed Castor, the mortal twin. Another version has it that the fight between the Dioscuri and Idas and Lynceus (also known as the Messenian brothers) occurred over a disputed apportionment of stolen cattle. The Messenians had tricked the Dioscuri out of their fair share of the beef, and a fight ensued. Idas, who had earlier battled Apollo, killed Castor. Then Pollux killed Lynceus but was wounded in the head by Idas, who was in turn killed by Zeus.
Pollux was so grief-stricken at Castor’s death that he pleaded with Zeus for Castor to be made immortal. As a compromise, Zeus allowed the twins to remain together on condition that they alternate days between living on
Mount Olympus and in the underworld. Another version tells that Zeus transformed Castor and Pollux into the constellation Gemini.
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