Editing Castor and Pollux (section)

==Shrines and rites==
[[Image:RomaForoRomanoTempioCastori.jpg|thumb|upright|Fragmentary remains of the [[Temple of Castor and Pollux]] in [[Rome]]]]

The Dioskouroi were worshipped by the Greeks and Romans alike; there were temples to the twins in [[Athens]], such as the [[Anakeion]], and [[Rome]], as well as shrines in many other locations in the ancient world.<ref>{{Citation | contribution = Dioscuri | title = A Dictionary of the Bible | first = W. R. F. | last = Browning | author-link=W. R. F. Browning | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1997}}.</ref>

The Dioskouroi and their sisters grew up in [[Sparta]], in the royal household of [[Tyndareus]]; they were particularly important to the [[Sparta]]ns, who associated them with the Spartan tradition of dual kingship and appreciated that two princes of their ruling house were elevated to immortality. Their connection there was very ancient: a uniquely Spartan aniconic representation of the Tyndaridai was as two upright posts joined by a cross-bar;{{Sfn | Burkert | 1985}}{{Sfn | Kerényi | 1959 | p = 107}} as the protectors of the Spartan army the "beam figure" or ''dókana'' was carried in front of the army on campaign.<ref>{{citation | first1 = Nicholas "Nick" Victor | last1 = Sekunda | first2 = Richard | last2 = Hook | title = The Spartan Army | page = 53 | publisher = Osprey Publishing | year = 1998 | isbn = 1-85532-659-0}}.</ref> Sparta's unique dual kingship reflects the divine influence of the Dioscuri. When the Spartan army marched to war, one king remained behind at home, accompanied by one of the Twins. "In this way the real political order is secured in the realm of the Gods".{{Sfn | Burkert | 1985 | p = 212}}

Their ''herōon'' or grave-shrine was on a mountain top at [[Therapne]] across the [[Eurotas]] from Sparta, at a shrine known as the ''Meneláeion'' where Helen, Menelaus, Castor and Pollux were all said to be buried. Castor himself was also venerated in the region of [[Kastoria]] in northern Greece.

[[File:Dioskouroi theoxenia Louvre Ma746.jpg|thumb|upright|Relief (2nd century BCE) depicting the Dioskouroi galloping above a winged Victory, with a banquet ''(theoxenia)'' laid out for them below]]
They were commemorated both as gods on Olympus worthy of [[Holocaust (sacrifice)|holocaust]], and as deceased mortals in Hades, whose spirits had to be propitiated by [[libation]]s. Lesser shrines to Castor, Pollux and Helen were also established at a number of other locations around Sparta.<ref>{{Citation | first = Sarah B | last = Pomeroy | author-link = Sarah B. Pomeroy | title = Spartan Women | page = 114 | publisher = Oxford University Press | place = US | year = 2002 | isbn = 0-19-513067-7}}.</ref> The [[pear]] tree was regarded by the Spartans as sacred to Castor and Pollux, and images of the twins were hung in its branches.<ref>{{Citation | first = Guy | last = Davenport | title = Objects on a Table: Harmonious Disarray in Art and Literature | page = 63 | publisher = Basic Books | year = 1999 | isbn = 1-58243-035-7}}.</ref> The standard Spartan oath was to swear "by the two gods" (in [[Doric Greek]]: νά τώ θεὼ, ''ná tō theō'', in the [[Dual grammatical number|Dual number]]).

The rite of ''[[theoxenia]]'' (θεοξενία), "god-entertaining", was particularly associated with Castor and Pollux. The two deities were summoned to a table laid with food, whether at individuals' own homes or in the public hearths or equivalent places controlled by states. They are sometimes shown arriving at a gallop over a food-laden table. Although such "table offerings" were a fairly common feature of Greek cult rituals, they were normally made in the shrines of the gods or heroes concerned. The domestic setting of the ''theoxenia'' was a characteristic distinction accorded to the Dioskouroi.<ref name="Parker" />

The image of the twins attending a goddess are widespread{{Refn | group = "lower-alpha" |Kerényi draws attention especially to the rock carvings in the town of Akrai, Sicily.{{Sfn | Kerényi | 1959 | p = 111}}}} and link the Dioskouroi with the male societies of initiates under the aegis of the [[Cybele|Anatolian Great Goddess]]{{Sfn | Burkert | 1985 | p = 212}} and the great gods of [[Samothrace]]. During the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic period]], the Dioscuri were venerated in [[Naucratis|Naukratis]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hockmann|first=Ursula|title=Amilla: The Quest for Excellence. Studies Presented to Guenter Kopcke in Celebration of His 75th Birthday|publisher=INSTAP Academic Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1931534734|editor-last=Koehl|editor-first=Robert B.|pages=367–368}}</ref> The Dioscuri are the inventors of war dances, which characterize the [[Kuretes]].

Anakeia (ἀνάκεια) or Anakeion (ἀνάκειον) was a festival held at Athens in honor of the Dioscuri who also had the name Anakes (Ἄνακες).<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D15%3Aentry%3Danakeia-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Anakeia]</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=anakeia-cn&highlight=anakeia A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), Anakeia]</ref>