Introduction
Pollux, known in Greek as Polydeuces, is an immortal son of Zeus and Leda, and, with his mortal twin brother Castor (son of Leda's husband Tyndareus), one of the Dioscuri, "sons of Zeus", a celebrated pair of hero-twins.
This figure marks the point where the genealogy of the gods gives way to the genealogy of heroes. A fuller account of their adventures belongs to a separate treatment of the Greek Heroic Cycle; this article covers their divine parentage and place in that transition.
Family
- Father: Zeus
- Mother: Leda
- Siblings: Persephone, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, Eileithyia, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, Urania, Perseus, Heracles, Arcas, Epaphus, Aeacus, Dardanus, Minos, Rhadamanthus, Sarpedon, Helen, Amphion, Zethus, Castor
The Dioscuri
Pollux and Castor, though only half-brothers by different fathers (Pollux immortal through Zeus, Castor mortal through Tyndareus), were raised together and remained inseparably close throughout their lives, taking part together in famous adventures including the voyage of the Argonauts and the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. Pollux was especially renowned as a boxer.
Castor's death and shared immortality
When Castor was killed, Pollux, unable to bear separation from his twin, begged Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his brother rather than live forever alone. Zeus granted a compromise: the two would alternate, spending alternating days among the gods on Olympus and among the dead in the underworld, remaining together either way. They were placed together in the sky as the constellation Gemini, "the twins".