GEMINI

Twins Zwillinge Ikrek

Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. It was already known in the ancient times, and was associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in the Greco-Roman mythology. Gemini is prominent in the winter sky of the northern hemisphere and is visible the entire night in December–January. It also hosts the radiant for Geminids, a bright meteor shower that peaks on December 13–14 every year.

The two most prominent stars of the constellation, today called as Castor and Pollux were always regarded as siblings or partners throughout history. In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins who were regarded as minor gods. In the Greek legend Leda, the wife of Tyndareus was seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan (reference to Cygnus), who gave birth to the twins Castor and Pollux. Castor was mortal, while Pollux immortal, yet Pollux didn't want to be separated from his twin, when he died in battle. So Zeus gave Castor immortality uniting them in Olympos.