DIOSCURI The twin brothers, Castor and Pollux, who, having become enamoured of the brides of Lynkeus and Idas, Phoebe and Hilaeeira, tried to carry off the two women, and got into a fight with the two grooms. In the combat, Castor was slain, and Pollux, having avenged his brother's death, prayed to Zeus that Pollux be brought back to life, providing that each lived only on alternate days. Zeus granted this plea, and the brothers took on a divine aspect, represented as riding on white horses in the sky, with dazzling spears, each with a star above his brow. The Dioscuri were supposed to guide wandering mariners to safety.