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Justina Moran
May 1, 2015
ASTRO 10
Gemini
Gemini is one of the zodiac constellation and one of the forty eight constellations
described by the second century astronomer Ptolemy. Gemini is Latin for “twins”. The name is
fitting for the constellation. The constellation is named after the twin’s brother Castor and Pollux
it represents the head of the twins, while the dimmer stars outline the two bodies stand side by
side. Gemini mythology comes into play when Castor, being mortal, finally dies. Having spent
their whole lives together, Pollux is depressed. He doesn't want to live without his twin brother,
but since he is immortal, there is nothing he can do. So he begs his father, Zeus, for help. Zeus
decides that rather than killing Pollux so he can be with Castor, he makes Castor immortal too,
and the two of them get to live together forever as the constellation Gemini (Mike, 2015).
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In Babylonian astronomy the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins.
The Great twins were minor Gods. They were known as Meshlamtaea and Lugalirra they each
mean “The one who has risen from the Underworld” and “The Mighty King”. The constellation
of the Great Twins is believed to admire the friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu who
adventured together and fought the gods in twelve adventures and a quest for immortality. In the
Babylonian astronomy the constellation Gemini did not only represent the twins but also a pile of
bricks that referred to the first city built.
In Chinese astronomy the stars that are in the constellation Gemini are also located in two
areas called the “White Tiger of the West” and “Vermillion Bird of the South”. The stars Castor
and Pollux are also seen as “Ying and Yang”. The biggest part of the Gemini makes a
constellation in Chinese known as Jing meaning “Well”. The Jing constellation is made up of 8
stars. The star Castor and Pollux are not part of the Jing constellation. The last Chinese
constellation found in Gemini is a curved line of four stars called Shuiwei meaning the “Water
Level”.
In Egyptian astronomy the stars Castor and Pollux have a huge part in Egyptian
Astronomy. The two stars were used to keep track of time at any point during the night as the
two stars followed each other. Castor and Pollux were known to rise at dawn. The constellation
Gemini can also represent Horus the older and Horus the younger. Horus is one of the oldest and
most significant Gods in the ancient religion.
The Greek mythology has more of a twist compared to the other myths that have been
mentioned. In Greek mythology Gemini represents the twin heroes Castor and Polydeuces. They
were also called labal and lybal and they were also know together as Dioscuri. The story behind
their belief is that the two were born from an egg laid by Leda after and she had been seduced or
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raped by the god Zeus in the guise of a swan. There are slight variations to this story that say that
Polydeuces was the son of Zeus and that Castor was the son of Tyndareus which was the king of
Sparta.
Hindu mythology believes that the two stars known as Castor and Pollux are known as
twin horsemen who appears at dawn. Back in time the stars were only visible at during spring.
They linked the twins to the Spring Equinox. Mithuna is the Sakrit name for this pair of twins
and it almost matches the same meaning as the Gemini Constellation in terms of the Zodiac.
Although these were all fairly common myths but not everyone looked at the
constellation Gemini as Castor and Polydeuces. The ancient writer Aratus does refer to
constellation of Gemini as the twin brothers but he doesn’t acknowledge them by any name.
Around a century later, Eratosthenes named the stars Castor and Polydeuces. Others astronomer
like Hyginus and Ptolemy indentify the stars as Apollo and Hercales, which those two are halfbrothers and sons of Zeus the difference is that they aren’t twins. Ptolemy called the two stars
“The star of Apollo” and “the star of Hercales”
Pollux is an orange giant meaning it has used up all its core hydrogen fuel. Astronomer
say such a star will likely slough off its outer shell and evolve into a white dwarf. Castor is six
stars that are gravitationally-bound to each other making it a sextuplet star system. The light
from Castor take fifty light years to reach us while Pollux, which is slightly brighter, takes 35
light years.
The constellation Gemini has many different stories and myths behind it. I enjoy reading
all of them because they all tell a creative story based on a strong bond between brothers. I could
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see why these stories would be passed on for generations. The stories give you something to
connect to.
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Work Cited
Zimmermann, Kim Ann. "Gemini Constellation: Facts about the Twins | Space.com."
Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
"Gemini Mythology - The Story Behind the Gemini Zodiac Sign." Gemini Mythology The Story Behind the Gemini Zodiac Sign. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
"Gemini." Brickthology. N.p., 11 June 2013. Web. 05 May 2015.
Sen, By Nina. "Interesting Facts About the Gemini Constellation." LiveScience.
TechMedia Network, 08 Sept. 2012. Web. 05 May 2015
"Gemini Star Constellation." Gemini Star Constellation. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
"Gemini Constellation Stars – Astrology King." Astrology King. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May
2015.