The relationship between the worship of Christian twin saints Cosmas (Kosmas) and Damianus (Damianos), and the Greco-Latin Dioscuri is clear and almost obvious. I was looking for convicent etymologies of names Kosmas (Portuguese Cosme, older Cosmo) and Damianos (Portuguese Damia~o), and found only the usual Kosmas < kosmos and Damianos from some town called Damia or something like. For me it seems more two examples of folk-etymologies.
Kosmas could be related to kosmos, in fact, but in its original sense of "arrange", and "hairdo". It'd be akin to Germanic Hazdingo:z (ON Haddingr), name of a pair of twin kings, from *hadda- < *koz-dHo- "hairdo" < *kes-/kos-/ks- to cut > Latin castus, ksa:- "to cut" (Greek xiphos?), Russian kosa "braid". It'is not impossible that name Kastor fit into this. Dumézil states that transvestite priests were associated to the rites of Heavenly Twins.
Damianos could be related to *demh2- "to tame", seen in Kastor's epithet <hippodamos> "horse-tamer"
JS Lopes
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