Leda and the Swan

Leda is one of Zeus's many conquests (or victims depending on how you look at it). He seduced her in the form of a swan. As a result Leda laid two eggs containing her four children: Castor and Clytemnestra to her husband, Tyndareus, and Pollux and Helen to Zeus, King of the Gods. All of Leda's children go on to have stories of their own, Helen is indeed the face that launched a thousand ships bringing about the Trojan War, Clytemnestra murdered her husband and in turn is murdered by her son Orestes, and Castor and Pollux were Argonauts and involved in many adventures. But these are all stories for another time.

"My own fatherland, Sparta, is not without fame, and my father is Tyndareus; but there is indeed a story that Zeus flew to my mother Leda, taking the form of a bird, a swan, which accomplished the deceitful union, fleeing the pursuit of an eagle, if this story is true." (Euripides, Helen, 1.17-20)

Leda by Alfredo Sabat, 2007

Leda and the Swan by Cesare de Sesto, 1510-1515 after a painting by Leonardo da Vinci

 I've included this image in my Birds post but thought it would be a shame to omit it from this one.

Leda and the Swan by Alexandre Voronkov, 1997

Leda and the Swan by David Jermann, 1997

Leda by Gustav-Adolf Mossa, 1906

Leda by Norman Lindsay, 1995

"Leda, meekly reclining under the wings of a swan." (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 6.109)

Leda with the Swan by Correggio, 1531-1532

Leda con Cisne by Giovanni Boldini, 1860

Leda and the Swan by Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto

Leda and the Swan by Jerzy Hulewicz, 1928

Leda and the Swan, 16th Century

 A copy of a lost Michelangelo painting.

Leda and the Swan by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1598-1600

 And here's a version by Rubens.

Leda and the Swan by Paul Cézanne, c. 1820-1822

"A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.
How can those terrified vague fingers push
The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
And how can body, laid in that white rush
But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?
A sudden shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead.
                                Being so caught up,
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?"
                                                (W.B. Yeats, 'Leda and the Swan', Collected Poems, 1994)

Leda and the Swan by François Boucher, 1741

Leda and the Swan by Giovanni Boldini, 2010

Leda and the Swan by Paul Prosper Tillier

Leda Atomica by Salvador Dali, 1949

Leda and the Swan by Lelio Orsi

Leda and the Swan by Gustave Moreau, 1865-1875

 The story of Leda's children does vary from what I wrote above, in some cases it is a single egg, and the combination of which children are born from in changes amongst sources as well.

Leda with the Swan and Her Children by Vincent Sellaer

Leda and the Swan by Jacopo Pontormo, 1512-1513

Leda by Giampietrino, 1530

 There were just so many pictures of Leda that I had to stop or my computer may have passed out. If you want to check out more images concerning  Leda, then I'd recommend Júpiter y leda which has an extensive collection laid out in chronological order.

Birds! Birds! Birds!

The Menagerie by Melchior de Hondecoeter (ca. 1690).

Today I’m focusing my attention on birds of mythology, in part because I was inspired by this awesome livejournal post (http://0rchid-thief.livejournal.com/668323.html?thread=3282595) and in part because yesterday a butcher bird flew into our house after my wonderful dog very unwonderfully brought his bone inside tsk tsk. Don’t worry though, after much manoeuvring my mother got it out (If I’m completely honest I was asleep through the whole thing).

And here be the birds!

A Falcon by Archibald Thorburn.

The Falcon is a solar creature. In Egyptian mythology it is representative of the god Horus who sometimes has a Falcon head. In Norse mythology it is connected to the leader of the gods, Odin. The Falcon also plays a part in Chinese, Japanese and Native American mythology.

Owls by Gustave Doré.                        An Owl by Bec Kilpatrick

Perhaps one of the most mystical and magical birds that exist in our world. They were associated with the Greek/Roman Goddesses Athena/Minerva and Artemis/Diana as well as the Welsh Goddess Blodeuwedd. It has a mysterious duality to it as a creature of wisdom as well as death and misfortune. It has its place in Chinese, Japanese, Cree, African, Gaelic, and Scottish tradition. They were/are also associated with witches. They sure do get around.

Bec Kilpatricks site is: http://cargocollective.com/beckilpatrick

I’ve got to say finding good pictures of owls is sooo easy, picking just two not so much. Everyone does owls, and I don’t blame them, they’re awesome. I particularly like the Doré picture because of the owls expressions, and I particularly Kilpatrick’s because of the flower motif which, to me, harks back to the Blodeuwedd myth in which Blodeuwedd the goddess of spring and flowers is turned into an owl, I don’t know if this was the artists intention but it’s awesome either way.

Pelecanus Erythorhynchos by John James Audubon.

The Pelican at one time or other has been a part of the symbology of Christianity, Alchemy and Masonry.

A Wagtail by Oshara Koson.

In the myths of the Abron people the Wagtail is known as Nconzo Nkila.

A Fairy Wren by Neville Henry Cayley.    Nested Fairy Wren by Renee Treml

The Wren is the central player in a European folklore tale that possibly dates back to ancient Sumer, in which the Wren, through cunning, is named King of the birds.

Renee Treml’s Etsy store can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReneeTreml?ref=pr_shop_more

Leda and the Swan by Cesare de Sesto based on a lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci (1510-1515).

This particular painting depicts the Greek myth in which Zeus seduces Leda in the form of a swan (it’s better than a shower of gold I suppose). The swan is important to a number of myths and stories in a number of cultures including Irish and Hindu. The notion of the swan singing sweetly as it dies is central to its symbolism in many of its stories (anyone who hasn’t seen Black Swan go, go now). And don’t forget the story of the ugly duckling.

The Peacock by Patricia Ariel (http://mesmerizedbythesirens.blogspot.com/  )

The Peacock is central to Asian folklore. It is associated with paradise and in the epic poem Conference of the Birds by Attar, is exiled with Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden for siding with the serpent.

A Murder of 13 by Christina Empedocles (2010).

The Crow is multifaceted, it is an omen of both the bring of death and the cleansing of it. It is cunning and has the gift of foresight. It is present in North American, Australian, Celtic, Irish, Scottish, Greek and Christian lore.  

Christina Empedocles's website is http://www.christinaempedocles.com/index.html.

One evil looking Magpie by Ego Guiotto.

In the East the Magpie is a bringer of joy and good fortune, in the West not so much. In the West, if you see one you’re pretty much screwed. Now I don’t know what it’s like in the rest of the Western world (or Eastern world for that matter) but in Australia, let’s just say I’m surprised I’m not dead yet. In Christianity they’re a symbol of the Devil and in Norse mythology they’re connected to witches (what bird isn’t).

For some amazing photography of birds visit Kim Steininger’s site, www.birdsbykim.com.

And Beth Emily does some beautiful watercolour and pencil ornithological illustrations which you can look at here; http://www.beth-emily.com/.

For more information on birds in mythology and other magical creatures, and the source of some of my information turn to The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews, it's full of interesting information.


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking reading, writing and all kinds of daydreamy things.