Leda

Lēda, ae, and Lēdē, ēs, f., = Λήδα,

• the daughter of Thestius, and wife of Tyndarus; she bore by Jupiter, who visited her in the form of a swan, two eggs, from one of which came Pollux and Helen, and from the other Castor and Clytemnestra, Ov. H. 17, 55; id. M. 6, 109; Hyg. Fab. 77: pueri Ledae, i.e. Castor and Pollux, Hor. C. 1, 12, 25.—She was deified after her death, under the name of Nemesis, Lact. 1, 21: Lede, Ov. Am. 1, 10, 3: chironomon Ledam saltare, i. e. in the part of Leda in a pantomime, Juv. 6, 63.—Hence,
• II Lēdaeus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Leda, Ledaean.
• • A Lit.: Ledaei dei, i.e. Castor and Pollux, Ov. F. 1, 706; also, Lacones, Mart. 1, 37, 2: Helena, Verg. A. 7, 364: Hermione (as granddaughter of Leda), id. ib. 3, 328: ovum, a swan's egg, Mart. 8, 33, 21; cf. olores, id. 1, 54, 8: Timavus, because Castor, on the return of the Argonauts, let his horse Cyllarus drink of it, id. 4, 25, 5; cf. Cyllarus, Stat. S. 1, 1, 54: astrum, i.e. Castor and Pollux, Mart. 8, 21, 5.—
  • B Poet., transf.
  • • 1 Spartan: Phalantum, Tarentum, founded by the Spartan Phalantus, Mart. 8, 28, 3: gurges, i.e. of the Eurotas, Stat. S. 2, 6, 45. —
    • 2 Amyclaean (because Castor and Pollux were born at Amyclae): Xanthippus, Sil. 4, 358.

2. Lēda, ae, f. u. Lēdē, ēs, f. (Λήδα), Tochter des Thestius, Gemahlin des spartanischen Königs Tyndareus, die von Zeus (Jupiter), der sich ihr in der Gestalt eines Schwanes nahte, zwei Eier gebar, aus denen Kastor u. Pollux (die Dioskuren), Helena u. Klytämnestra hervorgingen, Ov. her. 17, 55; am. 1, 10, 3 u.a.: nach einigen nach ihrem Tode als Nemesis vergöttert, Lact. 1, 21, 23. – Dav. Lēdaeus, a, um, ledäisch, auch poet. für spartanisch, Helena, Verg.: Hermione, Enkelin der Leda, Verg.: di, Kastor u. Pollux, Ov.: sidera, Lucan., od. astrum, Mart., Kastor u. Pollux, die Zwillinge, ein Gestirn: olores, Schwäne, mit Beziehung auf Leda, Mart.: ovum, Ei eines Schwanes, Mart.: Amyclae, durch Leda berühmt, Sil.: Phalantum (i.e. Tarentum), vom Spartaner Phalanthus erbaut, Stat.

1 Lēda, (12) æ, f. , Hor. O. 1, 12, 25 et Lēdē, ēs, f. , Ov. Am. 1, 10, 3 (Λήδα), femme de Tyndare, mère de Pollux, Hélène, Castor et Clytemnestre || Lēdæus, a, um, de Léda : Virg. En. 3, 328 ; 7, 364 || de Castor et Pollux : Mart. 8, 21, 5 || de Sparte : Stat. S. 2, 6, 45.

Leda

(Λήδα), a daughter of Thestius, whence she is called Thestias (Apollod. 3.10.5; Paus. 3.13.8; Eur. IA 49); but others call her a daughter of Thespius, Thyestes, or Glaucus, by Laophonte, Deidamia, Leucippe, Eurythemis, or Paneidyia. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.146, 201 ; Serv. ad Aen. 8.130; Hygin, Fab. 14; Apollod. 1.7.10.) She was the wife of Tyndareus, by whom she became the mother of Timandra, Clytaemnestra, and Philonoe. (Apollod. 3.10.6; Hom. Od. 24.199.) One night she was embraced both by her husband and by Zeus, and by the former she became the mother of Castor and Clytaemnestra, and by the latter of Polydeuces and Helena. (Hyg. Fab. 77.) According to Homer (Hom. Od. 11.298, &c.) both Castor and Polydeuces were sons of Tyndareus and Leda, while Helena is described as a daughter of Zeus. (Il. 3.426; comp. Ov. Fast. 1.706; Hor. Carm. 1.12, 25; Martial, 1.37.) Other traditions reverse the story, making Castor and Polydeuces the sons of Zeus, and Helena the daughter of Tyndareus. (Eur. Hel. 254, 1497, 1680; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.808 ; Hdt. 2.112.) According to the common legend Zeus visited Leda in the disguise of a swan, and she produced two eggs, from the one of which issued Helena, and from the other Castor and Polydeuces. (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 453; Ov. Her. 17.55 ; Paus. 3.16.1; Horat. Ars Poet. 147; Athen. 2.57, &c., ix. p. 373; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 2.2, 24.2, xxvi.; comp. Virgil, Cir. 489; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 88.) The visit of Zeus to Leda in the form of a swan was frequently represented by ancient artists. It should be observed that Phoebe is also mentioned as a daughter of Tyndareus and Leda (Eur. IA 50), and that, according to Lactantius (1.21.), Leda was after her death raised to the rank of a divinity, under the name of Nemesis. (Comp. Tyndareus.) [L.S]

Leda

(Λήδα). A daughter of King Thestius and Eurythemis, who married Tyndareos, king of Sparta. According to the common account, she became, by Zeus (who assumed for that purpose the form of a swan), the mother of Pollux and Helen, and on the same night by her own husband, the parent of Castor and Clytaemnestra. Two eggs, it seems, were brought forth by her, from which respectively came the children just named, Pollux and Helen being in one, and Castor and Clytaemnestra in the other. Other versions, however, are given of the legend, for which consult Homer ( Od. xi. 298) and the articles Dioscuri and Helena. See also Calverley's Sons of Leda, from Theocritus. The story of Leda and the swan has formed the subject of many beautiful works of art in both ancient and modern times.

Leda Leda, daughter of Thestius

• Apollod. 1.7.7; Paus. 3.13.8
• mother of Castor and Pollux by Zeus: Apollod. 1.8.2
• wife of Tyndareus: Apollod. 3.10.5
• Zeus as a swan consorts with her: Apollod. 3.10.5
• gives birth to egg: Paus. 3.16.1
• nurse, not mother, of Helen: Paus. 1.33.7
• she bears Pollux and Helen to Zeus, and Castor and Clytaemnestra to Tyndareus: Apollod. 1.3.5