Leda and the Swan by W.B Yeats (Audio Poem)
Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces or rapes Leda, a Spartan queen. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. According to many versions of the story, Zeus took the form of a swan and raped Leda on the same night she slept with her husband King Tyndareus. In some versions, she laid two eggs from which the children hatched. In other versions, Helen is a daughter of Nemesis, the goddess who personified the disaster that awaited those suffering from the pride of Hubris.
Especially in art, the degree of consent by Leda to the relationship seems to vary considerably; there are numerous depictions, for example by Leonardo da Vinci, that show Leda affectionately embracing the swan, as their children play.
The subject was rarely seen in the large-scale sculpture of antiquity, although a representation of Leda in sculpture has been attributed in modern times to Timotheus (compare illustration, below left); small-scale sculptures survive showing both reclining and standing poses, in cameos and engraved gems, rings, and terracotta oil lamps. Thanks to the literary renditions of Ovid and Fulgentius it was a well-known myth through the Middle Ages, but emerged more prominently as a classicizing theme, with erotic overtones, in the Italian Renaissance.
-
LIVE
Cigar prop
2 days ago $0.02 earnedIzzy Woods of Drew Estate Cigars, I'd Tap That Cigar Show Episode 232
1,335 watching -
2 MIKES LIVE
7 hours ago#68 2ML Tonight's guest Jeremy Carl, author of The Unprotected Class!
8.17K1 -
54:44
The Amber May Show
1 day agoMovie | War On Truth | Federal Government Has Waged a War On Truth | Nick Searcy
11.5K1 -
56:41
Donald Trump Jr.
7 hours agoCOHEN CAUGHT IN LIES AND THEFT: This is Bragg’s Star Witness? My Response | TRIGGERED Ep.138
64.8K131 -
1:52:58
The Quartering
5 hours agoTrump Trial Collapses, Iran President Kaput, War Crimes, CIA Busted In Coup!
41.2K18 -
2:26:53
WeAreChange
3 hours agoCountdown Underway To New York Leftists Throwing Donald Trump In Jail?!
19.9K16 -
1:59:06
Film Threat
8 hours agoAI WILL DESTROY HOLLYWOOD! | Film Threat Versus
20.3K2 -
32:16
TudorDixon
8 hours agoBurt Reynolds: The Last Interview with Rick Pamplin | The Tudor Dixon Podcast
24.1K6 -
57:20
Kimberly Guilfoyle
7 hours agoNOTHING TO BRAGG ABOUT: Sham NY Case Implodes, Live with Jeffrey Clark & Larry Elder | Ep. 127
34.9K24 -
1:24:16
Redacted News
6 hours agoBREAKING! Iran Helicopter Mystery Deepens, Global Terror Alert Issued by U.S. | Redacted News Live
100K298