Leda, The queen of Sparta was approached by the god Zeus, disguised as a swan. Zeus made love to her in this form.

There is a twist - the legend is that Helen the queen from the Trojan war, was born from an egg because her father Zeus appeared as a swan when he impregnated Leda. Some versions of the tale claim that it was the goddess Nemesis who laid the egg from which Helen hatched. Additionally, some ancient sources state that Polydeuces was also the son of Zeus, while his twin brother Castor was the child of Tyndareus.

Leda and THe Swan by Josephine Wall
© Courtyard of Romance

Castor and Polydeuces also know as The Twins - GEMINI were the offspring of Leda and the Swan under which disguise Zeus had concealed himself. Leda gave birth to an egg from which sprang the twins. Helen, so famous afterwards as the cause of the Trojan War, was their sister.

When Theseus and his friend Pirithous had carried off Helen from Sparta, the youthful heroes Castor and Polydeuces, with their followers, hastened to her rescue. Theseus was absent from Attica and the brothers were successful in recovering their sister.

Castor was famous for taming and managing horses, and Polydeuces (Pollux in Latin) for skill in boxing. They were united by the warmest affection and inseparable in all their enterprises. They accompanied the Argonautic expedition. During the voyage a storm arose, and Orpheus prayed to the gods, and played on his harp, whereupon the storm ceased and stars appeared in the heads of the brothers. From this incident, Castor and Polydeuces came afterwards to be considered the patron deities of seamen and voyagers, and the lambent flames, which in certain states of atmosphere play round the sails and masts of vessels, were called by their names.

Best Regards
Georgios

Hi Georgios,

Thank you for sharing the Legion of Leda and the Swan with me.  It was very interesting.

I love the zodiac sign legends.  I am a aquarius and can't wait to read more on that.

Hope you and yours had a great holiday and wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Blessings,

Beryl