Leda and the Swan. The great god Zeus saw Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus, beside the river Eurotas (though seemingly not all artists know this, since many leave out the river). Zeus wanted her. A lot. His way of achieving his desire was to turn himself into a swan and so beguile her in that form. He was successful in his seduction. The myth continues, and in most variations states that Leda afterwards laid an egg from which were hatched Helen (of Troy) and the twins Castor and Polyduces. Leda was subsequently deified, some say as Nemesis. The panel below is a stone relief by Clodion. (1738-1814 - French Sculptor)
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