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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
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    "chunk_id": "1911:castleton:46c69764ea5a",
    "title": "CASTLETON",
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    "verified_text": "castleton, a village in the high peak parliamentary division of derbyshire, england, 17 m. w.s.w. of sheffield, and 2 m. from hope station on a branch of the midland railway. pop. (1901) 547. lying itself at an elevation of about 600 ft., it is surrounded on the north, west and south by hills from 1400 to 1700 ft. in height, rising sharply, and in parts precipitously. the village is celebrated for its situation in the midst of the wild peak country, for the caves and mines in the neighbourhood, and for the castle of the peak, the ruins of which are strongly placed on a cliff immediately above the village. the peak cavern or devil's hole, penetrating this cliff, is the most magnificent in derbyshire. for many generations the entrance to this cave has served as a workshop, held free of rent, to families employed in rope and twine making. speedwell cavern is not far distant, at the entrance to the fine pass of winnats, by which castleton and the vale of hope are approached from the west. the beauties of this cavern, in which occurs the so-called bottomless pit, are in part readily accessible by boat, but the approach to the inner or cliff cavern is so difficult that it has rarely been explored. among several other caves is that known as the blue john mine, from the decorative fluorspar called \"blue john\" which is obtained here. the church of st edmund, castleton, retains a fine norman chancel arch, and the vestry contains a valuable library. at brough near castleton was a roman fort, established to hold in check the hillmen of the peak. it was connected by roads with buxton, manchester and rotherham. the castle of the peak, or peveril castle, is famous through sir walter scott's novel _peveril of the peak_. early earthworks, which, extending from below the castle in a semicircle, enclosed the town, can still in great part be traced. before the conquest the site was held by gernebern and hundinc, and was granted by the conqueror to william peverell, by whom the castle was built. on the forfeiture of william peverell, grandson of the first holder, it was granted by henry ii. to prince john who, in 1204, made hugh nevill governor of the castle. in 1216 william ferrers, earl of derby, took it from the rebellious barons, and was made governor by henry iii., who in 1223 granted a charter for a weekly market at the town. in 1328 the castle was given to john of gaunt on his marriage with blanche of lancaster, and thus became parcel of the duchy of lancaster. the castle has often been used as a prison, and from its position was almost impregnable. castletown (manx, _bully cashtel_), a town of the isle of man, 10 m. s.w. of douglas, by the isle of man railway. pop. (1901) 1975. it is picturesquely situated on both sides of a small harbour formed by the outflow of the silver burn into castletown bay. it was the legal capital of the island until 1862. in the centre of the town stands castle rushen, which is said to owe its foundation to the danish chief, guthred, in 947-960, though the existing building, which is remarkably well preserved, probably dates from the 14th century. until the 18th century it was the residence of the lords of man, and until 1891 served as a prison. the massive keep is square, and is surrounded by an outer wall, with towers and a moat. the council chamber and court-house were built in 1644. in the neighbourhood of the castle is the old house of keys, where the members of the manx parliament held their sessions until the removal of the seat of government to douglas. a lofty doric column commemorates cornelius smelt, lieutenant-governor of the island (d. 1832), near which there is a remarkable sun-dial with thirteen faces, dating from 1720. king william's college, situated a mile to the north-east of the town, was opened in 1833; but a complete restoration was rendered necessary by fire in 1844, and it was subsequently enlarged. it is the chief educational establishment in the island. at hango hill near the town william christian, receiver-general, who had surrendered the castle, and with it the island, to the parliamentary forces in 1651, was executed in 1663 at the instance of the countess of derby, who had undertaken to defend it for the king. a small shipping trade is maintained. castor and pollux (gr. [greek: poludeukes]), in greek and roman mythology, the twin sons of leda, and brothers of helen and clytaemnestra. they were also known under the name of dioscuri ([greek: dioskoroi], later [greek: dioskouroi], children of zeus), for, according to later tradition, they were the children of zeus and leda, whose love the god had won under the form of a swan. in some versions leda is represented as having brought forth two eggs, from one of which were born castor and pollux, from the other helen. in another account, zeus is the father of pollux and helen, tyndareus (king of sparta) of castor and clytaemnestra. in homer, castor, pollux and clytaemnestra are said to be the children of tyndareus and leda, helen the daughter of leda by zeus. the dioscuri were specially reverenced among people of dorian race, and were said to have reigned at sparta, where also they were buried. they were also worshipped, especially in athens, as lords and protectors ([greek: anakes, anaktes]). sailors in a storm prayed to them (horace, _odes_, i. 3) and sacrificed a white lamb, whereupon they were wont to appear in the form of fire at the masthead (probably referring to the phenomenon of st elmo's fire), and the storm ceased. later, they were confounded with the samothracian cabeiri. in battle they appeared riding on white horses and gave victory to the side they favoured. they were the patrons of hospitality, and founded the sacred festival called theoxenia. they presided over public games, castor especially as the horse-tamer, pollux as the boxer; but both are represented as riding on horseback or driving in a chariot. in sparta their ancient symbol was two parallel beams [greek: dokana] connected by cross-bars, which the spartans took with them into the field (plutarch, _de fraterno amore_, 1; herodotus v. 75); later, they were represented by two amphorae with snakes twined round them. their most important exploits were the invasion of attica, to rescue their sister helen from theseus; their share in the hunting of the calydonian boar (see meleager) and the argonautic expedition, and their battle with the sons of aphareus, brought about by a quarrel in regard to some cattle, in which castor, the mortal (as the son of tyndareus), fell by the hand of idas. pollux, finding him dead after the battle, implored zeus to be allowed to die with him; this being impossible by reason of his immortality, pollux was permitted to spend alternately one day among the gods, the other in hades with his brother. according to another fable, the god marked his approval of their love by placing them together in the sky, as the twins or the morning and evening star (hyginus, _poet. astronom._ ii. 22). like the asvins of the _veda_, the bringers of light in the morning sky, with whom they have been identified, the dioscuri are represented as youthful horsemen, naked or wearing only a light chlamys. their characteristic attribute is a pointed egg-shaped cap, surmounted by a star. though their worship was perhaps most carefully observed among people of dorian origin, castor and pollux were held in no small veneration at rome. it was the popular belief in that city from an early period that the battle of lake regillus had been decided by their interposition (dion. halic. vi. 13). they had fought, it was said, armed and mounted, at the head of the legions of the commonwealth, and had afterwards carried the news of the victory with incredible speed to the city. the well in the forum at which they alighted was pointed out, and near it rose their ancient temple, in which the senate often held its sittings. on the 15th of july, the supposed anniversary of the battle, a great festival with sumptuous sacrifices was celebrated in their honour, and a solemn parade of the roman knights (_transvectio equitum_), who looked upon the dioscuri as their patrons, took place. (apollodorus iii. 10. 7, 11. 2; homer, _odyssey_, xi. 299; hyginus, _fab._ 77. 155; pindar, _nem._ x. 60, 80 and schol.; diod. sic. iv. 43; plutarch, _theseus_, 32, 33; theocritus, _idyll_, xxii.) see maurice albert, _le culte de castor et pollux en italie_ (1883), with special descriptions and representations in art, on coins, vases and statues; s. eitrem, \"die gottlichen zwillinge bei den griechen\" (treating of the divine beings mentioned in pairs in greek mythology), in _videnskabs-selskab skrifter_ (christiania, 1902); w.r. paton, _de cultu dioscurorum apud graecos_ (bonn, 1894); l. myriantheus, _acvins oder arische dioskuren_ (munich, 1876); j.r. harris, _the dioscuri in the christian legends_ (1903), and _the cult of the heavenly twins_ (1906); w. helbig, \"die castores als schutzgotter des romischen equitatus,\" in _hermes_, xl. (1905); c. jaisle, _die dioskuren als retter zur see bei griechen und romern, und ihr fortleben in christlichen legenden_ (tubingen, 1907); l. preller, _griechische und romische mythologie_; articles by a. furtwangler in roscher's _lexikon der mythologie_, and by m. albert in daremberg and saglio's _dictionnaire des antiquites._",
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