| THE EPISTOLARIAN |
Throughout Greek mythology, Zeus often transformed himself and others to seduce, abduct, or in the worst examples, rape them.
To name a few...
- Eagle - Zeus transformed into an Eagle and abducted Ganymede, a prince of Troy
- Gold Coins - Danae was seduced by Zeus in the form of a shower of gold coins.
- Bull - Europa was abducted by Zeus as a white bull and taken to Crete.
- Ant - Zeus transformed himself into an ant to have sex with Eurymedousa.
- Dragon - Zeus seduced Persephone multiple times. Once he impersonated her husband, Hades. Another time, he transformed into a dragon to seduce her.
- Swan - Zeus transformed into a swan to seduce Leda.
- Cloud - He swoops down in the form of a cloud to seduce Io.
Look closely at the mist to see Zeus' face and hand.
|
|
|
|
Leda and the Swan During the 16th century, motifs featuring Zeus gained newfound appreciation. While shock and repulsion may be the initial reaction to scenes such as a woman engaging in intimacy with a swan, it was actually considered a more "appropriate" portrayal of copulation than showing a woman with a man. Despite its seemingly taboo connotations, there's something about these ancient stories depicted through art that holds us captivated. What do you think? |
|
|
Kay
(Kathryn Hastings)
Leda wasn’t ‘seduced’. In The Worl of Myth by David Adam’s Leeming, it says “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 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?