Twins in mythology

A pair of Female ere ibeji twin figures (early 20th-century) in the permanent collection of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Twins appear in the mythologies of many cultures around the world. In some cultures they are seen as ominous, and in others they are seen as auspicious. Twins in mythology are often cast as two halves of the same whole, sharing a bond deeper than that of ordinary siblings, or seen as fierce rivals. They can represent another aspect of the self, a doppelgänger, or a shadow. However, twins can also reflect a complete opposition of the other, such as the "civilized" Gilgamesh, and the "wild" Enkidu; or in the commonly known instance of good and evil twin identities.

Twins can also be shown as having special powers and deep bonds. In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux share a bond so strong that when Castor dies, Pollux gives up half of his immortality to be with his brother. Caster and Pollux are the Dioscuri twin brothers. Their mother is Leda a being that who was seduced by Zeus who taken the form of a swan. Even though that the brothers are twins, they have two different fathers. Explains their human and god differences. Caster father is Tyhdareus, the king of Sparta (hence the mortal form).^[1] Pollux is the son of Zeus (demigod). This brothers were said to be born from an egg along with either sister Helen and Clytemnestra.^[2] This etiologically explains why their constellation, the Dioskouroi or Gemini, is only seen during one half of the year, as the twins split their time between the underworld and Mount Olympus. In an aboriginal tale, the same constellation represents the twin lizards who created the plants and animals and saved women from evil spirits. Another example of this strong bond shared between twins would be the Ibeji twins within African mythology. Ibeji twins are viewed as one soul shared between two bodies. If one of the twins die, the parents then create a doll that portrays the body of the deceased child, so the soul of the deceased can remain intact for the living twin. Without the creation of the doll, the living twin is almost destined for death because it is believed to be missing half of its soul.^[3]

Divine twins in twin mythology, they are identical to either one or both place of a god. The Feri gods are not separated entities but are unified into one center. These divine twins can function alone in one body, either functioning as a male or male and female as they desire. Divine twins represent a polarity in the world. These polarity may be great or small and at times can be opposition. As represented on other cultures are often seen to be rivals or adversaries.^[4]

By culture[]

Africa[]

Egyptian[]

Nut and Geb, Dualistic twins. God of Earth (Geb) and Goddess of the sky (Nut)
Osiris - Isis’ twin and husband. Lord of the underworld. First born of Geb and Nut. One of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.
Isis - Daughter of Geb and Nut; twin of Osiris.
Ausar - (also known by Macedonian Greeks as Osiris) twin of Set. Set tricked his brother at a banquet he organized so as to take his life.

Nigerian[]

Mawu-Lisa - Twins representing moon and sun, respectively.
Yemaja - Mother of all life on earth.
Aganju - Twin and husband of Yemaja^[3]
Ibeji - Twins of joy and happiness. Children of Shango and Oshun.^[5]

Amerindian[]

Gluskap and Malsumis - A cultural hero and its evil twin brother for the Wabanaki peoples.
Hahgwehdiyu and Hahgwehdaetgah - Sons of Iroquois sky goddess Atahensic.^[6]
Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé and - Navajo goddesses.^[6]
Monster Slayer and Born-for-Water - Navajo Hero Twins.^[6]
and Juracán - Twin sons of (Mother Nature), the personifications of Order and Chaos, respectively; from the Taíno Arawak nation which once stretched from South America through the Caribbean and up to Florida in the US. ^[7]
Hun-apu and Ixbalanque, the Maya Hero Twins - Defeated the Seven Macaw
Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl or Tezcatlipoca^[6]
Kokomaht and Bahotahl - Good and evil forces in nature.

Ancient Mesopotamian religion[]

Inanna and Utu.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Greek and Roman mythology[]

Divine
- Apollo and Artemis - God and goddess, children of Zeus and Leto.
- Hypnos and Thanatos - Sons of Nyx and Erebos.
- Eros and Anteros - Sons of Aphrodite
- Phobos and Deimos - Sons of Ares and Aphrodite
- Ploutos and Philomelos - Sons of Demeter and the demigod Iasion.
- Palici - Sicilian chthonic deities in Greek mythology and Roman mythology.
- Romulus and Remus - Central characters of Rome's foundation myth. Children of Rhea Silvia by either the god Mars, or by the demi-god Hercules.
One divine, one mortal
- Heracles and Iphicles - Though their mother was Alcmene, Hercules was son of Zeus while Iphicles was son of Amphitryon.
- Castor and Pollux, known as the Dioscuri - Though their mother was Leda, Castor was mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus.
- Helen and Clytemnestra - Sisters of the Dioscuri, they were the daughters of Leda by Zeus and Tyndareus, respectively.
Children of a god or nymph and a mortal
- Atlas and Eumelus/Gadeirus, Ampheres and Evaemon, Mneseus and Autochthon, Elasippus and Mestor, and Azaes and Diaprepes - Five sets of twins, sons of Poseidon and Cleito, and Kings of Atlantis in Plato's myth.
- Belus and Agenor - Sons of Poseidon and Libya.
- Aegyptus and Danaus - Sons of Belus and Achiroe, a naiad daughter of Nile.
- Aeolus and Boeotus - Sons of Poseidon and Arne.
- Lycastus and Parrhasius - Sons of Ares and , daughter of Nyctimus of Arcadia.
- Amphion and Zethus - Sons of Zeus by Antiope
- Centaurus and Lapithes - Sons of Ixion and Nephele or Apollo and Stilbe.
- Pelias and Neleus - Sons of Poseidon and Tyro.
- Phrixus and Helle - Children of Athamas and Nephele.
- Eurytus and Cteatus - Sons of Molione either by Actor or Poseidon
- Ascalaphus and Ialmenus - Sons of Ares and Astyoche, Argonauts who participated in the Trojan War.
Mortal
- Kleobis and Biton - Sons of a Hera priestess in Argos
- Iasus and Pelasgus - Sons of Phoroneus or Triopas
- Proetus and Acrisius - Rival twins, children of Abas and Aglaea or Ocalea.
- Porphyrion and Ptous - Sons of Athamas and Themisto
- Thessalus and Alcimenes - Sons of Jason and Medea.
- Cassandra and Helenus - Children of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy with prophetic powers.
- Procles and Eurysthenes - Great-great-great-grandsons of Heracles, sons of Aristodemus and Argia.
- Sisyphus and Salmoneus - Rivals who angered Zeus with their deceit and hubris. Sons of King Aeolus of Thessaly and Enarete.

Ancient Syria[]

Arsu and Azizos - Gods of the evening star and morning star.^[6]

Norse mythology[]

Freyr and Freyja - God and goddess, children of Njörðr.

Hinduism[]

The Ashvins - Sons of the sun God, Surya. Represent dualities such as building and destroying.
Yama and Yami - God and Goddess of death.
Lava and Kusha - Children of Rama and Sita.
Nakula and Sahadeva - sons of the last born of the Pandavas
Lakshmana and Shatrughna - Children of Dasharatha and Sumitra
Indra and Agni - Mirror twins

Jewish[]

Jacob and Esau - Sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Represented two nations.^[11]

Zoroastrian[]

Ahura Mazda and Ahriman - Twins of opposing forces: good and evil.^[12]

Afro-Caribbean cosmologies[]

Marassa Jumeaux - The divine, children twins in Vodou.
Ibeji - Twins of joy and happiness. Children of Chango and Oshun.

Asia[]

Izanagi and Izanami - God and Goddess, creators of the Japanese islands.

References[]

^ Edmunds, Lowell (2015-10-13), "Dioscuri", Stealing Helen, Princeton University Press, retrieved 2021-11-25
^ Edmunds, Lowell (2015-10-13), "Dioscuri", Stealing Helen, Princeton University Press, retrieved 2021-11-25
^ ^a ^b Flatley, Robert. "Kanopy". doi:10.5260/cca.199204. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ McIntosh, Mark A. (2021-03-04), "The Divine Ideas Tradition in Christianity", The Divine Ideas Tradition in Christian Mystical Theology, Oxford University Press, pp. 12–40, retrieved 2021-11-25
^ Flatley, Robert. "Kanopy". doi:10.5260/cca.199204. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e C. Scott Littleton, ed. (2005). Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology, Volume 4. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. ISBN 978-0-7614-7559-0.
^ From the Oral history of the Taino Arawak Nation, as told to me by a member of the Nation, "Makanaxeiti"
^ Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum Press, pp. 108, 182, ISBN 978-0-7141-1705-8
^ *Wolkstein, Diane; Kramer, Samuel Noah (1983), Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer, New York City, New York: Harper&Row Publishers, pp. x–xi, ISBN 978-0-06-090854-6
^ Pryke, Louise M. (2017), Ishtar, New York and London: Routledge, p. 36, ISBN 978-1-138--86073-5
^ Vivienne., Lewin (2017). Twin enigma. Karnac Books. ISBN 9781782415336. OCLC 954223952.
^ "Encyclopedia.com | Free Online Encyclopedia". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2018-12-15.

Selected literature[]

Jobes, Gertrude (1962). Dictionary of Mythology, Part 2. New York: Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 1614–1615.
Maria Leach, ed. (1972). Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 1134–1136.
John M. Wickersham, ed. (2000). Myths and Legends of the World, vol 4. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 76–79. ISBN 978-0-02-865438-6.
"Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd) and Ahriman." New Catholic Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com.12 Dec. 2018 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
“ISIS.” Egyptian Mythology for Smart People, egyptianmythology.org/gods-and-goddesses/isis/.
Lewin, Vivienne. Twin Enigma. Karnac Books, 2017.
Myers, Bethany. “Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC.” Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC, 2002, opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1005&context=uhp_theses.
Voth, Grant, et al., directors. The Beauty of African Mythology. Welcome to Virginia Commonwealth University | Kanopy, 2015, vcu.kanopy.com/s?query=african+mythology.