Ancient Greek
SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA
Antiochos I Soter. 281-261 BC
AE denomination B
Helmeted head of Athena right / Caps of the Dioskouri
5.29 g, 18-20 mm
SC 332; HGC 146
Scarce (R1-R2 per HGC)
The Dioskouroi (Castor and Pollux) were twin brothers, sons of Leda (but with separate fathers) and brothers of Helen of Troy. Zeus, who had disguised himself as a swan to seduce Leda, was the father of Pollux. As the son of Zeus, Pollux was immortal. He asked to share his immortality with his brother: they were transformed into the twin stars at the heart of the constellation Gemini. The caps they wore, known as the pilei (singular: pilos) derived from the egg from which they were born, a legacy of the disguised swan father.