| − | '''Gemini''', or the "Twins" (Castor and Pollux), is one of the sky's most visible [[constellations]] in the Northern Hemisphere, and in [[astrology]] is the third [[sign]] of the [[Astrology|Zodiac]], falling between [[Taurus]] and [[Cancer (zodiac)|Cancer]]. As a sun sign, it represents the dates of May 22 through June 21. | + | '''Gemini''', or the "Twins" (Castor and Pollux), is one of the sky's most visible [[constellations]] in the Northern Hemisphere, and one of the twelve Signs of the [[Astrology|Zodiac]]. Its name is from the Latin ''gemini'' "twins", the plural of the adjective ''geminus'' "doubled, a double, twin, something two-fold". It is the third [[Astrology|astrological]] [[sign]], falling between [[Taurus]] and [[Cancer (zodiac)|Cancer]]. As a sun sign, it represents the dates of May 22 through June 21. |
| | + | 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 ''immortal'' 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. The brothers were known as outstanding horsemen and famous for their loyalty to each other without rivalry or jealousy between them. They were inseparable. When Castor was killed, his immortal brother Pollux, inconsolable, petitioned Zeus to bring him to Olympus. |