Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 28:11

"And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was The Twin Brothers." — Acts 28:11 (ASV)

“After three months” (probably about mid-February), the centurion Julius arranged for another ship to take his contingent of prisoners and soldiers for the last leg of their voyage to Italy. It was another Alexandrian vessel, probably another grain ship (cf. comment on v.13) from Egypt that had harbored at Malta before winter set in. Ships, like inns, took their names from their figureheads; and this one had the painted carving at its prow of Castor and Pollux, who in Greek mythology were transformed by Zeus into twin gods represented by the constellation Gemini. Their cult was especially widespread in Egypt, and the Gemini were considered by sailors a sign of good fortune in a storm. For an Alexandrian ship, the figurehead was an appropriate one.