Leda and the Swan

The power and the majesty of art can
transport us into an ecstasy of delight
that the human mind is capable of
producing literature, art and melodies
whose transcendent value is unsurpassed
by any other medium. But what is art?
Are the fantastic stories of gods and
goddesses and the myths of ancient
civilizations explicating phenomena
that bedevil humankind to be classed 
as great literature? All the emotions and
foibles, the jealousies and the pleasures
and liberties permitted by Olympian
residents in a royal mirror image of
humanity's condition, do they not then
represent exploits mere mortals yearn
to experience, and if the gods indulge
then why not lesser beings? So then in
the portrayal of a god coveting the allure
of a human transforming himself into a
bull or a swan to consummate the union
of god and human do we observe sublime
art or ancient pornography in the melting
flesh of a naked beauty and the lust of
the swan guided toward its goal by the
worshipful indulgence of humanity?