In Greek mythology, Leda, also rendered Lede, was an Aetolian princess who became queen consort of Sparta through her marriage to King Tyndareus.Myths surrounding Leda typically concern her rape by Zeus and the birth of her children Helen, Clytemnestra, and Castor and Pollux.

While she was married to Tyndareus, Zeus began to covet her. In order to take her without alerting his wife Hera, Zeus devised a plot. He shapeshifted and pretended to be an injured swan fleeing from an eagle, which he used as a pretext to fall into Leda's lap, where he then assaulted her. Hyginus writes that this event took place near the river Eurotas. Later the same day, Leda laid with Tyndareus as well. Resultingly, Helen and Pollux were children of Zeus, and Clytemnestra and Castor were children of Tyndareus. Leda is commonly described as giving birth to a set of two eggs: one that Helen and Pollux emerged from, and one that Castor and Clytemnestra emerged from. However, some accounts do not mention Leda laying eggs.

Another version of the myth states that the goddess Nemesis was instead the mother of Helen, and was also impregnated by Zeus in the guise of a swan. After copulating with Zeus, she laid an egg; a shepherd found the egg and gave it to Leda, who carefully kept it in a chest until the egg hatched. Helen was born from the egg, and Leda raised her as her own daughter. Zeus commemorated the birth of Helen by creating the constellation Cygnus.

Leda and the Swan was a popular motif in the visual arts, particularly during the Renaissance.

All published appearances of Leda from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

* The Iliad
* The Odyssey
* The Homeric Hymns
* Epic Cycle, The Cypria Fragments
* Greek Lyric I Terpander, Fragments
* Agamemnon
* The Library
* Idylls
* Alexandra
* Description of Greece
* Dialogues of the Gods
* Dialogues of the Dead
* The Judgement of Paris
* Dictys Cretensis
* Exhortation to the Greeks
* Recognitions
* Dionysiaca
* Fabulae
* Astronomica
* Metamorphoses
* Fasti
* Heroides
* Aeneid
* Agamemnon
* Phaedra
* The Argonautica
* Thebaid
* The Golden Ass
* Mythologies

*[https://myths-in-media.fandom.com/wiki/Leda Myths in Media Wiki]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leda_(mythology) Wikipedia]
*[https://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Leda.html Theoi]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/leda/4005-23355/ ComicVine]
*[https://gachagames.fandom.com/wiki/Leda Gacha Games Wiki]
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