THE CONSTELLATION GEMINI

introduction to The mythical brothers of hellen of troy.

INTRODUCTION

Key takeaways

• Gemini is a constellation in the northern hemisphere.
• It is one of Ptolemy’s original 48 constellations.
• It represents the legendary heroes.
• It contains one Messier object, the open cluster M35.
• It contains the famous star duo, Castor and Polydeuces.
• The brightest star’s name is Polydeuces, with an apparent magnitude of 1.14, 34 light-years away.

Beginner’s map of GEMINI

To find the mythological twins, we must find a convenient vantage point with a good view of the sprawling, mystery-shrouded land of mythology. In contrast to Hellen of Troy, we can easily spot them among other heroes of antiquity. Their fame had spread from east to west in the ancient world, and numerous shrines and temples were erected in their honor, as they were worshiped as gods. However, although no temples were built for her, their sister’s fame was probably even greater, for she was the legendary Hellen of Troy.

Homer has given us a captivating description of their sister, high on the fortresses of Troy, looking at the army of the Aecheans in the plain below and wondering why, while she could distinguish Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, Diomedes, and every other Greek king and warrior, she could not see her brothers among them, from her high vantage point. Unknown to her, the reason for their absence was their death. Maybe she could find them if it was night, and she turned her gaze at the night sky.

THE GEMINI MYTH

THE MYTH AT A GLANCE

Gemini represents two Spartan brothers: Castor and Polydeuces. Their sisters were Hellen of Troy and Clytaemnystra, and the parents of mortal Castor were King Tyndareus and Queen Leda. The parents of the immortal Polydeuces, however, were Zeus and Queen Leda. They were widely revered in antiquity as protectors of sailors and took part in the Argonautic expedition. Having never quarreled for any reason whatsoever, Zeus placed them in the sky on account of their impeccable brothership.

To discover the legend surrounding the constellation Gemini, we must depart from Troy and visit another city contending for the title of fame. Sparta. Just a couple of decades before the Trojan War, the king and queen of Sparta were Tyndareus and Leda. Zeus, captivated by Leda’s beauty, transformed into a swan and united with her on the mountain Taygetus, on the same night she had united with her husband. Polydeuctes and Hellen descended from Zeus, and Castor and Clytaimnestra came from Tyndareus.

Ancient sources don’t agree on the subject of their immortality. For some, they were both mortal (for example, Homer, as shown in the introduction). For others, the twins were both immortal, but maybe the prevailing view was that only Poludeuces was immortal. Either mortal or immortal, the twins grew up to become eminent heroes, noted for their bravery and fighting abilities. Castor excelled in the art of war, while Polydeuces excelled in boxing. Polydeuce’s boxing prowess would prove handy when he killed the inhospitable King Amycus, son of Poseidon, in a boxing fight.

These skills and attributes would prove invaluable in their adventurous lives. Among their many adventures, the twins took part in the Argonaut expedition and the quest for the Calydonian boar. The Argonauts took their name from the mythical ship Argo, built under the supervision of Athena, which they used in the quest for the golden fleece. Jason, the lead Argonaut, invited fifty of the most eminent heroes of Greece at the time to assist him. Among the elite fifty were Orpheus, Hercules, and Theseus. Their participation would prove invaluable and contribute to their fame as saviors, as they saved the crew two times during the perilous expedition.

The Calydonian boar was a fearsome boar that the goddess of the hunt and moon, Artemis, had unleashed to ravage the land in revenge for King Oeneus of Calydon, a region west of Attica, who made sacrifices to all the gods except her. Meleager, the king’s son, organized a hunt and invited the best hunters of his era. Among them were Castor and Polydeuces, the rest of the Argonauts, and notably, a famous woman hunter, Atalante, who drew first blood with her arrows and gave her name to asteroid 36 Atalante. With the help of the other heroes, the Calydonian boar was eventually slain.

Castor and Polydeuces had the famous Athenian hero Theseus by their side in both of those famous quests. But fate would have them turn against each other. The cause of the enmity would be the legendary beauty of their sister, Helen. Long before Pares abducted Hellen and became the cause of the Trojan War, middle-aged Theseus abducted her inside the temple of Artemis in Sparta, when she was only twelve years old. Fearing the Spartan rage, the Athenians forbade their stay in Athens, and Theseus took her to a nearby village, Aphidnae. She left her under the supervision of his mother, Aithra, and set off to the underworld to fetch Persephone from Hades.

During his absence, the twins, who in the meantime had organized a party, marched to Athens to find and liberate Hellen. Although the Athenians met them with silence, a man, the Athenian hero Academus, revealed the place to them. They attacked the town, released Hellen, and captured the mother of Theseus. She would become Hellen’s slave, and they would install a rival of Theseus as a ruler of Attica. On the contrary, they showed lasting gratitude to Academus. Not only did they honor him during his life, but afterward, during the wars between Sparta and Athens, no matter how much damage they inflicted on Athens, the Spartans always spared the Academy.

Θεωρούνται θεοί προστάτες και σωτήρες από διάφορους κινδύνους, στον πόλεμο, στην ασθένεια, στη θάλασσα. Η παρέμβασή τους προϋπέθετε θυσία ή προσευχή από τον ναυαγό ή τον απειλούμενο με ναυάγιο. Τότε κατέφθαναν αστραπιαία, η θύελλα σταματούσε, το ίδιο και η τρικυμία. (Εικ. 914)

Λεγόταν ότι εμφανίζονταν στους θνητούς ως ξενιζόμενοι και ανάλογα με τη συμπεριφορά τους τους αντάμειβαν ή τους τιμωρούσαν. Ευεργέτησαν, για παράδειγμα, τον Αρκάδα Ευφορίωνα που δέχτηκε να τους φιλοξενήσει και από τότε φίλευε όλους τους περαστικούς. Αντίθετα, τιμώρησαν τον Σπαρτιάτη Φορμίωνα που ναι μεν τους δέχτηκε στο σπίτι του και τους το παραχώρησε ολόκληρο όχι όμως ένα συγκεκριμένο δωμάτιο που ζήτησαν οι μεταμφιεσμένοι σε ταξιδιώτες από την Κυρήνη Διόσκουροι. Το σπίτι αυτό ήταν παλιά του Τυνδάρεου και το δωμάτιο που ζήτησαν να μείνουν οι Διόσκουροι ήταν το δωμάτιο των παιδικών τους χρόνων. Εκεί όμως έμενε η κόρη του φιλόξενου, κατά τα άλλα, Φορμίωνα που αρνήθηκε να τους το παραχωρήσει. Τη νύχτα η κόρη εξαφανίστηκε μαζί με τις δούλες της και τους ξένους. Αντί γι’ αυτήν στο δωμάτιο βρέθηκαν τα ξόανα των Διοσκούρων και ένα τραπέζι όπου οι ξένοι είχαν τοποθετήσει το αρωματικό και φαρμακευτικό φυτό σίλφιον, κύρια παραγωγή της Κυρήνης.

Αποθεωμένοι προανήγγειλαν την τύχη της Ελένης από το θεολογεῖον στην έξοδο της ομώνυμης τραγωδίας του Ευριπίδη και συμβούλευσαν τον Θεοκλύμενο σε ένα κείμενο που ο ποιητής περιγράφει και τη δικαιοδοσία των Διδύμων αδελφών: