Temple of Castor and Pollux Temple of Castor and Pollux The Temple of Castor and Pollux () is an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces) were the Dioscuri, the "twins" of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leda. Their cult came to Rome from Greece via Magna Graecia and the Greek culture of Southern Italy. The Roman temple is one of a number of known Dioscuri temples remaining from antiquity. The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and
Leda and the Swan (Correggio) and extraordinary balance between naturalist rendering and poetic transfiguration. Correggio had made a study of Michelangelo's "Leda and the Swan". According to Vasari's "Lives of the Artists", the "Leda" and a "Venus" (i.e. "Danaë") were commissioned by Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua as a gift for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. This is supported by the theory that Jupiter was flying out of the right hand side of "Leda" in swan form and into the left hand side of "Danaë" in golden-shower form. However, one more recent study suggests that all the paintings in the "amori di Giove" series