Castor and Pollux, in classical mythology, twin heroes called the Dioscuri; Castor was the son of Leda and Tyndareus, Pollux the son of Leda and Zeus. They were brothers to Helen and Clytemnestra. Castor excelled as a horseman and Pollux as a boxer. They were great warriors and were noted for their devotion to each other. In one version of the legend, after Castor was killed by Lynceus, Pollux, in accordance with the classical tradition that one of every set of twins is the son of a god and thus immortal, begged Zeus to allow his brother to share his immortality with him. Zeus arranged for the twins to divide their time evenly between Hades and Heaven, and in their honor he created the constellation Gemini. According to another legend, Castor was killed by Idas. The Dioscuri were widely regarded as patrons of mariners and were responsible for Saint Elmo’s fire. They were especially honored by the Romans, on whose side they were said to have appeared miraculously during the battle of Lake Regillus.
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The myth of Castor and Pollux forms the basis of my project in that there are several interesting points to do with time in that one story about the twins of the Gemini constellation. Firstly the dichotomy between mortality and immortality, with one twin having a vastly different perception of the passage of time from the other. The potential of death for one versus the enduring existence of the other, when both twins are physically (and presumably biologically) identical, where the second dichotomy lies – undeniably similar, yet vastly different. It seems almost paradoxical to me that two people devoted to one another should be so divided by relative lifespan. The division of time between Hades and Heaven may also be an interesting thing to explore, though my primary concern is the differing lifespans of the twins themselves.
This is just the conceptual basis. I haven’t yet decided what direction to move in beyond that of an illustration-based project with possible video documentation being one of the outcomes.
Other sources of inspiration that I will draw on to conceptualize the final outcome will be astrology and the zodiac (star charts, birth charts, the Zodiac Man) as well as the traditional tarot deck. I like the illustration style used in all these esoteric things and the depth of meaning that these objects can have. Nautical illustration may also be relevant since the twins are patrons of mariners (as above), which is a lovely twist for me because I rather like nautical illustration and marine cryptids (the kraken, etc.).
