Leda (mythology)

Family

Leda had up to six siblings. Apollodorus named two sisters: Althaea and Hypermnestra, and four brothers: Iphiclus, Plexippus, Eurypylus, and Evippus. In his Fabulae, Hyginus named Iphiclus and Althaea as Leda's only siblings. Althaea is almost always named as Leda's sister.

Leda married king Tyndareus of Sparta and by him became the mother of three daughters: Phoebe, Timandra, and Philonoe. She also bore four additional children by both Zeus and Tyndareus: Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, and the twins Castor and Pollux. Leda lay with Tyndareus the same night she was seduced by Zeus, and Pollux and Helen were children of Zeus while Clytemnestra and Castor were children of Tyndareus. This explains why Castor was frequently described as mortal while Pollux was described as immortal.

Mythology

Myths surrounding Leda typically concern her seduction by Zeus and the birth of her children Helen, Clytemnestra, and Castor and Pollux. While she was married to Tyndareus, Zeus began to covet her. In order to take her without alerting his wife Hera, Zeus devised a plot. He shapeshifted and pretended to be an injured swan fleeing from an eagle, which he used as a pretext to fall into Leda's lap, where he then assaulted her. Hyginus writes that this event took place near the river Eurotas. Later the same day, Leda laid with Tyndareus as well. Memorably, Helen and Pollux were children of Zeus, and Clytemnestra and Castor were children of Tyndareus. Leda is commonly described as giving birth to a set of two eggs: one that Helen and Pollux emerged from, and one that Castor and Clytemnestra emerged from. However, some accounts do not mention Leda laying eggs.

Another version of the myth states that the goddess Nemesis (Νέμεσις) was instead the mother of Helen, and was also impregnated by Zeus in the guise of a swan. After copulating with Zeus, she laid an egg; a shepherd found the egg and gave it to Leda, who carefully kept it in a chest until the egg hatched. Helen was born from the egg, and Leda raised her as her own daughter. Zeus commemorated the birth of Helen by creating the constellation Cygnus (Κύκνος).

In art

Main article: Leda and the Swan}}[[Leda and the Swan]], Leda and the Egg, and Leda with her children were and continue to be popular subjects in the arts; they were particularly popular during the [Classical art, [Classical]] period and the [[Renaissance]]. Leda has been depicted by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Cy Twombly]], [Édouard Houssin, [Edouard Houssin]], [Salvador Dalí, [Salvador Dali]], [[Raphael]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]], and [Leda and the Swan (Michelangelo), [Michelangelo]].{{Cite web, [Honoré Desmond Sharrer's]] "Leda & the Folks," a large, [Surrealism, [surrealist]] [[oil painting]] that depicts portraits of both Leda and [[Elvis Presley]]'s parents.{{Cite web](surrealist-oil-painting-that-depicts-portraits-of-both-leda-and-elvis-presley-s-parents-ref-cite-web), [Trojan War]] and [[World War I]].{{Cite web](trojan-war-and-world-war-i-ref-cite-web)

She is the subject of William Butler Yeats' Modernist poem Leda and the Swan. The myth was referenced in the premise of Eli Goldstone's 2017 novel Strange Heart Beating, which takes its name from Yeats' poem. In October 2022, the myth inspired Hozier to write a song in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which repealed Roe v. Wade. The song is called Swan Upon Leda.

Notes

References

• Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.

References

1. "Leda {{!}} Queen, Swan & Zeus {{!}} Britannica".
2. Peck, Harry T.. (1898). "Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Leda".
3. [[Pausanias (geographer)
4. [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus). Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Apollodorus)
5. [[Euripides]], ''[[Iphigenia in Aulis]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0108%3Acard%3D1 49]
6. [[Apollodorus of Athens. Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Apollodorus)
7. "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Leda".
8. [[Hyginus (Fabulae). Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/206#14.3 14.3]
9. [[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius Rhodius]], 201
10. [[Apollodorus of Athens. Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Apollodorus)
11. [[Alcman]], fr .15 as cited in Scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, 1.146
12. Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, 1.146 as cited in Lyric Poets. ''[[Eumelus of Corinth. Eumelus]], Life''
13. [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Libation Bearers]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0008:card=602&highlight=althaea 602]; See Note 1
14. Peck, Harry T.. (1898). "Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Helĕna".
15. Peck, Harry T.. (1898). "Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Clytaemnestra".
16. [[Gaius Julius Hyginus. Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/206#77 77]
17. "Hymn 17 to the Dioscuri, line 1".
18. [[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0218:book=11:card=6&highlight=leda 11.6]
19. [[Isocrates]], ''Archidamus'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0144:speech=6:section=18&highlight=leda 6.18]; See Note 4
20. [[Gaius Julius Hyginus. Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/206#80 80]
21. [[Ovid]], ''[[Amores (Ovid)
22. [[Euripides]], ''[[Helen (play)
23. "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Leda".
24. [[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae
25. [[Pausanias (geographer)
26. [[Gaius Julius Hyginus. Hyginus]], ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.8.1 2.8.1]
27. [[Stasinus of Cyprus]] or Hegesias of [[Aegina]], ''[[Cypria]]'' Fragment [https://archive.org/details/hesiodhomerichym1914hesi/page/498/mode/2up?view=theater 8]
28. Parker, Dian. (2022). "Leda & the Swan Through Art History".
29. Steer, Emily. (2024-10-14). "Why Women Artists Are Reinventing the Myth of Leda and the Swan".
30. "Leda and the Swan".
31. Gilson, Nancy. (2017). "Artist held focus on themes as styles changed".
32. "Leda and swan, 1958 by Sidney Nolan".
33. Taylor, Catherine. (May 12, 2017). "Strange Heart Beating by Eli Goldstone — the intimacy myth". The Financial Times.
34. "'Swan Upon Leda' Review: For Hozier, Oppression and Resistance are Mythical and Mundane".