The Divine Twins are in Indo-European Cosmogony, a duo of two young horseman who helped humanity, they being the sons of the Sky father Dyēus and brothers of Seh₂ul.
Mythology[]
Characterics[]
The Divine Twins are often represented as riding horses or being humanoid horses in a point of Indo-Iranian history, besides this they're always very nearby with humanity, so they always save people from the disasters. They are related with the Proto-Indo-European Goddess Seh₂ul.
The Sun[]
They are always related with the solar maiden (Seh₂ul), in many Indo-European Myths. In Greco-Roman Mythology, the Twins Kastor and Polydeukes saved Helene (who is a descendant of Seh₂ul) from Theseus, in Hinduism the Ashvins are the sons of Surya the solar god, in Baltic mythology the Ašvieniai was the who always rides the chariot of Saule the solar goddess.
Humanity[]
Unlike with other Indo-European gods, the Divine-Twins were the closest to humanity, the evidence of this can be seen in Greco-Roman Mythology with Kastor and Polydeukes, as they were saving humans from different dangers, like ship accidents and other similar situations. Besides this they were one of the few deities that were members of the Argonauts.
In Armenian Mythology, Sanasar and Baldasar are a duo of heroic brothers, and Sanasar becomes the founder of the Heroic Dynasty, and in P.I.E cosmogony the heroes were closet with humanity rather than with the gods.
Legacy[]
Christianity[]
The cult of Kastor and Polydeukes was affected by Christianization, so in some doctrines Kastor and Polydeukes appear as Saints rather than deities (without any other notable changes), but in other doctrines Kastor and Polydeukes were replaced by Jesus and Santiago (James) the Younger.
Popular Culture[]
Although, the Divine Twins themselves has not made any appearance in different medias, their descendants has.
Music[]
Lel and Polel have many songs dedicated to them by the Polish rock band Lao Che.
Video games[]
- Lel and Polel appear in the video game Blacktail.
- Kastor and Polydeukes are enemies in the video game God of War Ascension.
- Kastor and Polydeukes appear in Unsons League for Movils too.
TV[]
- Sahadeva appears in many series like Mahabharat (1988 TV series), 2013 version of the Mahabharata, Suryaputra Karn and Radhakrishn.
- In the Animated series Akul and Nakula, one of two protagonist is named Nakula.
Tabletop games[]
- The Ashvins are cards in Age of Ishtar.
- Kastor and Polydeukes appear in Board Game Greek.