Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or in Greek, Polydeuces) were twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. In Latin the twins are also known as the Gemini (literally "twins")
Castor et Pollux to remain alive with her for a single day. Telaira bitterly accuses him of never having loved her. Jupiter descends in a storm as a deus ex machina to resolve the dilemma. He declares that Castor and Pollux can both share immortality. The opera ends with the "fête de l'univers" ("Festival of the Universe") in which the stars, planets and sun celebrate the god's decision and the twin brothers are received into the Zodiac as the constellation of Gemini. The prologue was completely cut; it was no longer politically relevant and the fashion for operas having prologues had died out.