"The Twins"
Mythology:
The story of the Gemini Twins has been the model for many other stories
(and maybe even a few modern soap opera plots!). The names of the
two Twins are Castor and Polydeuces (more commonly known by his Roman name
of Pollux). Their mother was the queen of Sparta, Leda, but it is
their father(s) that make the story interesting. Leda was seduced
by the King of the Gods Zeus when he assumed the form of Cygnus the Swan.
So her husband, King Tyndareus, would not get suspicious of her adultery,
she slept with him on the same night she met with Zeus. Leda gave
birth to eggs, since Zeus had taken the form of a swan. These eggs
bore identical twins: Castor, who was the mortal son of Tyndareus,
and Polydeuces, who was the immortal son of Zeus. Some stories also
mention two daughters, Clytemnestra and the famous Helen of Troy.
Castor and Polydeuces were inseparable. Castor became an excellent
horseman and sword fighter -- in fact, he became the teacher to Hercules;
and Polydeuces became a boxer. Both Castor and Polydeuces where on
the Argo Navis with Jason and the Argonauts on the quest to find
the Golden Fleece of Aries. The Twins ended up in a brawl with another
set of twins, Idas and Lynceus. Castor was killed by Lynceus; as
revenge, Polydeuces killed him. Zeus struck Idas with one of his
thunderbolts before he could move in on Polydeuces. Because the Twins
had always been inseparable and so devoted to each other, Polydeuces was
filled with terrible grief at the loss of his brother. Further, because
of the way he was "born," Castor was to spend the afterlife in Hades.
Polydeuces convinced Zeus to at least let Castor spend half the year on
Olympus with the other Gods. The story goes on the further say that
Polydeuces prayed so hard for his brother and to be immortal like Castor
that Zeus took pity and put the brothers together in the heavens.
Other Interesting Sights: The two brightest stars within the constellation are Castor and Pollux, the heads of the Twins. The open cluster M35, at 2800 light years distance, is also within this constellation.
M35