Mute swan majestic on the Thames
Filmed in Windsor, England
Video by Morten_Art
April 28 2016
Transtrom says:
The mute swan is native to Europe and western Asia. It is non-migratory, one of the largest birds still capable of flight, monogamous (perhaps), aggressive in defense of its territory and young. Graceful. Pure white. Silent.
The common name comes from its silence. They can hiss and grunt, and do so when defending their territory, but unlike most waterfowl which announce their presence with barks, quacks, squeaks and rattles, the mute swan is almost eerily silent.
From this silence comes ancient folklore that the swan sings only once in its lifetime; the swan song is the single sweet song which the swan sings as it is dying. Socrates (in "Phaedo") admonishes one of his friends who is protesting his imminent death: "And you seem to think I am inferior in prophetic power to the swans who sing at other times also, but when they feel that they are to die ...."
That's why "swan song" has come to mean the last act, the final creative work, the farewell appearance.
The symbolism associated with many birds and animals is often quite consistent across many cultures. The lion is a symbol of power. The dove a symbol of peace. The fox a symbol of cunning. Symbolism associated with the swan has little consistency. It some regions it was considered a feminine symbol associated with the moon. Its presence was a sign of intuition and gracefulness, considered feminine attributes. The goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis were sometimes accompanied by swans.
More often, the swan was a masculine symbol. Its pure white color connected it to the sun, almost always a masculine deity. The swan was linked in ancient Greece to Apollo, God of the Sun.
Perhaps the most familiar presence of the swan in ancient myth is that of Leda and the Swan. The ever randy Zeus spied the beautiful Leda, wife of the King of Sparta. His Olympian lust aroused, Zeus nevertheless exercised a degree of circumspection. Changing himself into a swan, he allowed himself to be pursued by an eagle. He sought protection from his pursuer by falling into Leda's arms. Apparently she was a willing saviour, for she allowed him to stay in her arms throughout the night, even though her arms also included her husband. Her husband enjoyed her charms. Unknown to him, so did Zeus, still in his swan disguise. Helen, eventually of Troy fame, was the result of Zeus' uncontrolled libido.