Leda was the faithful spouse of Tindare and as such, the Queen of the Spartans. Zeus, with the intention of seducing her, transformed himself into a swan and joined with her on the banks of the Eurates River. It is not a coincidence that Zeus chose to transform himself into a swan to allure Leda. The swan, apart from symbolizing grace, almighty power and jealousy, is one of the rare birds to have tumescent abilities.

The writer Jean-Luc Henning comments: "No one considered it (the union of Zeus and Leda) like a rape: this relation took place with mutual consent, a lascivious abandonment, to say it all, a subjugation”.