Leda and the Swan (Peter Paul Rubens) either Zeus or Tyndareus, each man is said to be the father of all four children. Castor and Pollux were called the Dioscuri meaning “Zeus’s sons,” even though Castor was mortal because he was the son of Tyndareus and Pollux was immortal because he was the son of Zeus. According to Hermes in Lucians’ "The Dialogues of the Dead", Leda and her daughter (Helen of Troy) are the only women worthy of the title “beauties of old.” Rubens’s depictions of Leda clearly embody the phrase. With Leda’s curvy figure, alabaster skin, and golden hair, she is a sight to behold.
Castor et Pollux As it turned out, the opera was a success. It received twenty performances in late 1737 but did not reappear until the substantially revised version took to the stage in 1754. This time there were thirty performances and ten in 1755. Graham Sadler writes that "It was ... "Castor et Pollux" that was regarded as Rameau's crowning achievement, at least from the time of its first revival (1754) onwards." Revivals followed in 1764, 1765, 1772, 1773, 1778, 1779 and 1780. The taste for Rameau's operas did not long outlive the French Revolution but extracts from "Castor et Pollux" were still