Answer to Pollux and Castor

[Orphen]

I saw the thread much earlier asking on what kind of origin Pollux and Castor came from, so well, here goes, this should answer it.

POLLUX (Beta Geminorum). In northern spring evenings, the "twin" stars Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini descend the northwestern sky looking like a pair of eyes staring down at the Earth. They are twins only in mythology, these warriors, Pollux fathered by Zeus and divine, Castor mortal, both placed in the sky to allow them to be together for all time. The northernmost of the zodiacal constellations, Gemini is also among the brightest, helped by first magnitude Pollux and second magnitude Castor. An exception to the rule, brighter Pollux, the sky's 17th brightest star, was given the Beta designation by Bayer, while somewhat fainter Castor is known as Alpha Geminorum. In fact, Pollux and Castor are nothing like twins, Castor a white quadruple star with fairly hot components (actually sextuple if you count a distant pair of companions) and Pollux an orange-colored cool giant, the nice pairing with Castor making Pollux's color more vivid. From its distance of 34 light years, we calculate a visual luminosity for Pollux 32 times that of the Sun, and coupled with its 4500 degree-Kelvin temperature, a diameter some 11 times solar, making it smaller than most of its cool giant brethren and only a quarter the dimension of Aldebaran. Direct measures of angular size, however, yield a somewhat smaller diameter 8.3 times that of the Sun. As a warmer kind of giant star, Pollux emits X-rays and seems to have a hot, outer, magnetically supported corona perhaps similar to that surrounding our Sun.

[Nicktendonick]

Wow. Thanks for your answer.
Just to say, at PSO-world someone also explained the greek mythos of the 2. Now we have a mythos of the 2 and a astrological explanition of the two.

[Dkgamer]

Nice one, thanks Orphen!
The original thread was mine and i think you just cleared it up, i say again, nice one! ^_^

[Teh EkwEE]

You've done your astrology homework. Could anyone see if they could get a picture of the two (the PSO versions) and if you want the stars too.

[Orphen]

Castor and Pollux were the offspring of Leda and the swan, under which disguise Jupiter had concealed himself. Leda gave birth to an egg, from which sprang the twins. Helen, so famous afterwards as the cause of the Trojan war, was their sister.

When Theseus and his friend Pirithous had carried off Helen from Sparta, the youthful heroes Castor and Pollux, with their followers, hastened to her rescue. Theseus was absent from Attica and the brothers were successful in recovering their sister.

Castor was famous for taming and managing horses, and Pollux for skill in boxing. They were united by the warmest affection and inseparable in all their enterprises. They accompanied the Argonautic expedition. During the voyage a storm arose, and Orpheus prayed to the Samothracian gods and played his harp, whereupon the storm ceased and stars appeared on the heads of the brothers. From this incident, Castor and Pollux came afterwards to be considered the patron deities of seamen and voyagers, and the lambent flames, which in certain states of the atmosphere play round the sails and masts of vessels, were called by their names.

After the Argonautic expedition, we find Castor and Pollux engaged in a war with Idas and Lynceus. Castor was slain, and Pollux, inconsolable for the loss of his brother, besought Jupiter to be permitted to give his own life as ransom for him. Jupiter so far consented as to allow the two brothers to enjoy the boon of life alternately, passing one day under the earth and the next in the heavenly abodes. According to another form of the story Jupiter rewarded the attachment of the brothers by placing them among the stars as Gemini, the Twins.

They received divine honors under the name of Dioscuri (sons of Jove). They were believed to have appeared occasionally in later times, taking part with one side or the other, in hard-fought fields, and were said on such occasions to be mounted on magnificent white steeds. Thus in the early history of Rome they are said to have assisted the Romans at the battle of Lake Regillus, and after the victory a temple was erected in their honor on the spot where they appeared.

That pertains to the legend and may possibly help you guys out. And I will put up pictures as soon as I can.