Greek mythology tells the story of Leda, a queen of Sparta who caught the eye of Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus frequently had affairs with mortals, often disguising himself as an animal to overpower or deceive his victims. In seducing Leda, Zeus took the form of a swan, and here he is drawn into her lap while she holds up a sheltering cloak. Found in 1775 in Rome, this statue is a first-century Roman copy of an earlier Greek statue from the 300s B.C. attributed to Timotheos.Â