Castor and Pollux

Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri, "sons of Zeus") were twin demigods of Greek and Roman mythology, patrons of sailors and mariners, believed to appear as the electrical phenomenon of St. Elmo's fire in ship's rigging during storms. Sailors regarded their appearance as a favorable omen. The ship that carried Paul from Malta to Puteoli after his shipwreck bore their figure as its figurehead: "We set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, with the twin gods as a figurehead" (Acts 28:11).

The appearance of this pagan religious symbol in the narrative of Acts is incidental and unremarked — Luke records the vessel's identification mark without comment or critique. Such figureheads were standard on Alexandrian grain ships of the period. The Dioscuri were extremely popular throughout the Roman Empire, with temples in Rome, Corinth, Athens, and many other cities.