Leda and the Swan

Helen was the sister of Clytemnestra, and sometimes considered her twin. Helen was the daughter of Zeus, but Clytemnestra's father was merely the king of Sparta. Helen's father impregnated her human mother, Leda, as a swan. While Leda is generally considered the mother, another version has Nemesis lay the Helen-egg and Leda adopt the goddess' baby girl.

Leda's twin sons, Castor and Pollux, are also commonly thought to have been the sons of two different fathers. Again, one father is the Zeus-swan and the other, Tyndareus. Sometimes both boys are considered fully human. As such, they have died by the time Helen looks for them in the Iliad. At other times, Pollux (aka Polydeuces) is considered half-immortal. Before Helen's abduction that led to the Trojan War, Castor and Pollux rescued Helen from her first abductor -- the Greek hero Theseus.

This Apulian terracotta ritual vessel or loutrophoros is attributed to the Louvre painter. It measures 35 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. The Red-Figure vase shows scenes from the seduction of Leda by Zeus. Hypnos is to the right of Leda on the loutrophoros. The branch may be of yew dipped into the waters of oblivion of the River Lethe.