The Story of Castor and Pollux

Castor and Pollux (Gemini)

 Castor and Pollux, known by some Greek myth fans as the forgotten twins, were twin half-brothers. Castor, the mortal offspring of Spartan King Tyndareus, and Pollux, the immortal son of Zeus, shared their mother Leda and together were named as the Dioscuri.

Pollux was given a job amongst the gods under Artemis' domain of the stars, where worthy souls were now escorted by the god-spawn to become a constellation, which relieved Artemis of an excess duty. Meanwhile, Castor ventured with Jason and his Argonauts, slaying Calydonian Boars and sharpening his hunting skills for when his brother occasionally joined adventures or challenges.

However, while Pollux was content with his job and continually helped with the growing number of dying mortal souls, Castor could not escape the grips of mortality. He grew old over time and his soul weakened beyond repair as the fates called him home.

His brother, no longer distracted with his work, felt his twin soul pulling away and in a panicked frenzy, hunted down his dying brother. At his bedside, Pollux began to pray to his fellow gods. He begged for Thanatos to stop the fates, for Hades to reject his brother's soul, for Charon to not accept the payment to cross the River Styx. Nothing was effective, so when Castor's time came and his brother had been holding his hand, a scream which shook the earth rang from the god-spawn.

Once his grief had settled deep in his heart, Pollux sat coins on his brother's eyes and sat at the bedside. It was only a week later when Artemis came along, speaking of the backlog of worthy souls which had not yet been escorted to the skies, including his brother's soul. She was near-begging for him to return, but his grief had weighed him to his dead brother's bedside, and he refused.

It was then that Artemis proposed a solution. Either Pollux could return to his duties, or he could forfeit his immortality and join his brother in the underworld. He was warned, his death would not be without pain and returning would overall be painless compared to remaining in the underworld, and yet when faced with the choice, he decided to join Castor.

With permission from Thanatos and her father Zeus, she revoked his immortality and gave his body payment for Charon, before charging to Hades' domain and escorting the brothers together to lay side by side in the stars.