The Dioscuri between Time and Eternity: A Study in Greek Myth and Genealogy

Authors

Avi Kapach, University of Maryland, College ParkFollow

DOI

https://doi.org/10.52284/NECJ.50.1.article.kapach

Publication Date

5-16-2023

Abstract

This paper examines the genealogical doubleness of the Dioscuri, whose existence is divided between two generations: as brothers of Helen and sons of Leda and Tyndareus (or Zeus), the Dioscuri should belong to the generation of the Trojan War; yet their exploits take place during the previous generation, the generation of the Argonauts and the Calydonian Boar Hunt. I argue that the discrepancy between the Dioscuri’s two lives constituted a key feature of their mythology from an early period, giving rise to a genealogical problem that was reflected, with increasing subtlety, in ancient Greek literature.

First Page

31

Last Page

56

Recommended Citation

Kapach, Avi (2023) "The Dioscuri between Time and Eternity: A Study in Greek Myth and Genealogy," New England Classical Journal: Vol. 50 : Iss. 1 , 31-56.

https://doi.org/10.52284/NECJ.50.1.article.kapach

Keywords

Dioscuri, genealogy, mythography, chronography, Argonauts, Calydonian Boar Hunt, time