In ancient Greek mythology, gods were said to reside on Olympus. And there, ruling as the undisputed master was Zeus, god of light and lightning.

Besides maintaining law and order around the world, Zeus had a rather tumultuous private life. His many marriages and love affairs provided storytellers with endless material. Some of these stories relate to Zeus' ability to 'metamorphose', to change form. Indeed, the master of Olympus came to realise very quickly that if he was going to have an affair, he should do it very discreetly in order to avoid the anger of his wife Hera (who also happened to be his sister). So to that end, Zeus undertook to disguise himself as an animal or some other form to cover his tracks. Four stories dominate in this chapter of Olympian love :

LEDA - Zeus consummated his relationship with Leda while in the form of a swan

DANAE - Zeus impregnated the sequestered Danae by masquerading as a shower of gold

IO - in this intriguing story, it was Io who was transformed into a heifer by Zeus

EUROPA - the ruler of the gods abducted Europa while in the guise of a white bull

Zeus' numerous disguises or metamorphosis inspired artists throughout the ages. Early examples have been found in Pompei. This use of classical myths was pursued from the Renaissance, right through the Baroque period to our time.

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