View source for Λήδα

{{LSJ1
|Full diacritics=Λήδα
|Medium diacritics=Λήδα
|Low diacritics=Λήδα
|Capitals=ΛΗΔΑ
|Transliteration A=Lḗda
|Transliteration B=Lēda
|Transliteration C=Lida
|Beta Code=&#42;lh/da
|Definition=ας, ἡ, [[Leda]], [[Aeschylus|A.]]''[[Agamemnon|Ag.]]''914, etc.:—the forms Λήδη, ης, only Ep., as Od.11.298.
}}
{{bailly
|btext=(ἡ) :<br />Léda, <i>épouse de Tyndare, mère d'Hélène, de Clytemnestre et des Dioscures</i>.
}}
{{elru
|elrutext='''Λήδα:''' эп.-ион. [[Λήδη]] ἡ [[Леда]] (жена Тиндарея, мать Кастора и Полидевка, Клитемнестры и Елены) Hom., Pind. etc.
}}
{{ls
|lstext='''Λήδα''': ας, ἡ, Αἰσχύλ. Ἀγ. 914, κτλ.· ὁ [[τύπος]] Λήδη, ης, μόνον Ἐπικ., ὡς Ὀδ. Λ. 298.
}}
{{Slater
|sltr=[[Λήδα]] [[wife]] of Tyndareos, [[mother]] of Kastor, Polydeukes, Helen. <br /><b>1</b> σὺν βαθυζώνοιο διδύμοις παισὶ Λήδας (O. 3.35) υἱοὶ [[τρεῖς]] Ἀλκμήνας θ' ἑλικογλεφάρου Λήδας τε (P. 4.172) [[αὐτίκα]] γὰρ ἦλθε Λήδας [[παῖς]] διώκων Kastor (N. 10.66)
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{{grml
|mltxt=η<br /><b>αστρον.</b> [[ονομασία]] αστεροειδούς.
}}
{{etym
|etymtx=Grammatical information: f.<br />Meaning: Mother of the Dioscures and Helena (A. Ag. 914)<br />Other forms: [[Λήδη]] (ep.)<br />Origin: Lydian X[probably]<br />Etymology: To Lyc. [[lada]] [[wife]], [[spouse]]?; cf. [[Λητω]].
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{{FriskDe
|ftr='''Λήδα''': (A. ''Ag''. 914 usw.),<br />{Lḗda}<br />'''Forms''': [[Λήδη]] (ep.)<br />'''Grammar''': f.<br />'''Meaning''': Mutter der Dioskuren und der Helena.<br />'''Etymology''': Zu lyk. ''lada'' [[Frau]], [[Gattin]]; s. [[Λητώ]] m. Lit.<br />'''Page''' 2,114
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{{wkpel
|wkeltx=Στην ελληνική μυθολογία, η Λήδα ήταν μυθική βασίλισσα της Σπάρτης, σύζυγος του Τυνδάρεω και εξ αυτού μητέρα της Φοίβης, της Φιλονόης, της Τιμάνδρας, της Κλυταιμνήστρας, καθώς επίσης και εκ Διός μητέρα των Διοσκούρων Κάστορα και Πολυδεύκη και της Ωραίας Ελένης, από τη γέννηση των οποίων, που αναφέρεται ως "ωοτοκία", θεωρήθηκε περισσότερο θρυλική. Κατά τις παραδόσεις ήταν τόσο ωραία, ώστε την καταγωγή της διεκδικούσαν πλείστες χώρες της αρχαιότητας όπως η Σπάρτη, η Αιτωλία, η Κόρινθος κ.ά.
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{{wkpen
|wketx=In Greek mythology, Leda (/ˈliːdə, ˈleɪ-/; Ancient Greek: Λήδα [lɛ́ːdaː]) was an Aetolian princess who became a Spartan queen. According to Ovid, she was famed for her beautiful black hair and snowy skin. Her myth gave rise to the popular motif in Renaissance and later art of Leda and the Swan.

Leda was admired by Zeus, who seduced her in the guise of a swan. As a swan, Zeus fell into her arms for protection from a pursuing eagle. Their consummation, on the same night as Leda lay with her husband Tyndareus, resulted in two eggs from which hatched Helen (later known as the beautiful "Helen of Troy"), Clytemnestra, and Castor and Pollux (also known as the Dioscuri). Which children are the progeny of Tyndareus the mortal king, and which are of Zeus and thus half-immortal, is not consistent among accounts, nor is which child hatched from which egg. The split is almost always half mortal, half divine, although the pairings do not always reflect the children's heritage pairings. Castor and Pollux are sometimes both mortal, sometimes both divine. One consistent point is that if only one of them is immortal, it is Pollux. It is also always stated that Helen is the daughter of Zeus.

In Homer's Iliad, Helen looks down from the walls of Troy and wonders why she does not see her brothers among the Achaeans. The narrator remarks that they are both already dead and buried back in their homeland of Lacedaemon, thus suggesting that at least in the Homeric tradition, both were mortal.

Another account of the myth states that Nemesis (Νέμεσις) was the mother of Helen, and was also impregnated by Zeus in the guise of a swan. A shepherd found the egg and gave it to Leda, who carefully kept it in a chest until the egg hatched. When the egg hatched, Leda adopted Helen as her daughter. Zeus also commemorated the birth of Helen by creating the constellation Cygnus (Κύκνος), the Swan, in the sky.
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