Gemini means "twins" in Latin, and the two brightest stars of the constellation are named after the mythical brothers Castor and Pollux. They are among the most loyal siblings in all of Greek mythology, and their story gives the sign a more tender flavor than its reputation for restlessness suggests.
The Dioscuri
The brothers had one mother, Leda, queen of Sparta, but two different fathers. Pollux was the son of Zeus and was immortal, while Castor was the son of the mortal king Tyndareus. Castor became a famous horse tamer, and Pollux a champion boxer. They sailed with Jason on the Argo, and they rescued their sister Helen when she was kidnapped as a child. When Castor was killed in a fight, Pollux begged Zeus to let him die as well. Zeus offered a compromise: the brothers would spend alternate days in the underworld and on Olympus. In another version Zeus placed them together in the sky as the constellation Gemini.
Patrons of sailors
The twins were worshipped as protectors of ships. In a storm, sailors sometimes saw a glow of static electricity on the masts, which we call St. Elmo's fire, and they took it as a sign that Castor and Pollux had come to help. The Book of Acts mentions an Alexandrian ship called the Twin Brothers that carried the apostle Paul from Malta to Italy.
A sign of two minds
In astrology Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the quick messenger, and the sign is linked with talk, curiosity and change. The Roman numeral for two, II, is a common form of the glyph.
How to find it
In winter, look above Orion's left shoulder for two bright stars side by side. The one on the left is Castor, white, and the one on the right is Pollux, a little brighter and a little more orange. Each twin trails a line of fainter stars, a pair of stick figures walking down toward Orion.
On the star chart
On Sidney Hall's card the twins are shown as two young men in an embrace. One holds a bow and a lyre, and the other carries a club, which fit the myths of the archer-musician and the fighter.
Little-known facts
- Castor is not one star but a system of six stars, with three pairs orbiting one another.
- William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus in Gemini in 1781, and Clyde Tombaugh found Pluto in Gemini in 1930.
- The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-December, is one of the strongest of the year, and it comes from an asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, instead of a comet.
- Pollux is a giant star that has a confirmed planet, one of the first planets found around a giant star.
- Roman women swore "by Castor" (ecastor), and Roman men swore "by Pollux" (edepol).
Gemini appears on our:
