Dioscuri in the context of "Capitoline Museums"

⭐ In the context of the Capitoline Museums, which artistic periods are represented *in addition* to ancient Roman art?

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⭐ Core Definition: Dioscuri

Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi.

Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. The pair are thus an example of heteropaternal superfecundation. Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.

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👉 Dioscuri in the context of Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums (Italian: Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archaeological museums located on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. Their principal buildings are the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, which face each other across Piazza del Campidoglio, the square designed by Michelangelo in 1536 and completed over the course of the following centuries.

The museums are primarily dedicated to the art and history of ancient Rome, with a particular emphasis on Roman sculpture. The collection include celebrated works such as the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Capitoline Wolf and the Dying Gaul, alongside inscriptions, coins, and other artifacts illustrating the civic and religious life of the city. The museums also include Renaissance and Baroque paintings, as well as the richly frescoed walls of the Conservators' Apartment in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, which depict scenes from Rome's early history.

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Dioscuri in the context of Aphidna

Aphidna (Ancient Greek: Ἄφιδνα) or Aphidnae or Aphidnai (Ἀφίδναι) was one of the twelve ancient towns of ancient Attica. It was celebrated in the mythical period as the place where Theseus deposited Helen of Troy, entrusting her to the care of his friend Aphidnus. When the Dioscuri invaded Attica in search of their sister, the inhabitants of Deceleia informed the Lacedaemonians where Helen was concealed, and showed them the way to Aphidna. The Dioscuri thereupon took the town, and carried off their sister. We learn, from a decree quoted by Demosthenes, that Aphidna was, in his time, a fortified town, and at a greater distance than 120 stadia from Athens. As an Attic deme, it belonged in succession to the tribes Aeantis, Leontis, Ptolemais, and Hadrianis.

The site of Aphidna is located at Kotroni near the modern town of Afidnes.

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Dioscuri in the context of Gemini (astrology)

Gemini (♊︎; /ˈɛmɪn/ JEM-in-eye Greek: Δίδυμοι, romanizedDídymoi, Latin for "twins") is the third astrological sign in the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this zodiac sign between about May 21 to June 21. Gemini is represented by the twins, Castor and Pollux, known as the Dioscuri in Greek mythology. It is known as a positive, mutable sign.

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Dioscuri in the context of Temple of Castor and Pollux

The Temple of Castor and Pollux (Italian: Tempio dei Dioscuri) was an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, Central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces) were the Dioscuri, the "twins" of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leda. Their cult came to Rome from Greece via Magna Graecia and the Greek culture of Southern Italy.

The Roman temple is one of a number of known Dioscuri temples remaining from antiquity.

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Dioscuri in the context of Kephale (deme)

Cephale or Kephale (Ancient Greek: Κεφαλή) was a deme of ancient Attica of the phyle Acamantis, that appears, from the order in which it occurs in the list of Pausanias, to have been situated south or east of Hymettus, perhaps in the neighbourhood of Brauron, where Ludwig Ross found an inscription containing the name of this deme. Cephale possessed a temple of the Dioscuri, who were here called the Great Gods.

The site of Cephale is located east of modern Keratea.

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Dioscuri in the context of Cycnus

In Greek mythology, several characters were known as Cycnus (Ancient Greek: Κύκνος) or Cygnus. The literal meaning of the name is "swan", and accordingly most of them ended up being transformed into swans.

According to Pseudo-Eratosthenes and Hyginus' Poetical Astronomy, the constellation Cygnus was the stellar image of the swan Zeus had transformed into in order to seduce Leda or Nemesis. Pausanias and Servius state that Apollo turned Cycnus of Liguria into a swan after the death of his lover Phaeton, then later placed him among the stars as the constellation Cygnus.

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Dioscuri in the context of Thero (Greek mythology)

In Greek mythology, the name Thero (Ancient Greek: Θηρώ means "feral, beastly") may refer to:

  • Thero, reputed nurse of Ares. Local inhabitants of Therapne in Sparta believed that Theriates, a surname of Ares, had been derived from her name. Pausanias remarks that outside Therapne, Thero was completely unknown to the Greeks, and supposes that this mythological figure could have been of Colchian origin, considering the fact that the statue of Ares Theriates was believed to have been brought from Colchis by the Dioscuri.
  • Thero, daughter of Phylas and Leipephilene, and sister of Hippotes. She was said to have been beautiful as the moonbeams. Falling in love with Apollo, Thero became the mother of Chaeron, eponym of Chaeronea.
  • Thero, a follower of Artemis.
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