Leto

Leto
Leto
Childhood goddess
	Leto with the infants Apollo and Artemis, by Francesco Pozzi (1824)
Abode	Delos, Olympus
Animals	Rooster, wolf, weasel, gryphon
Symbol	Veil, dates
Tree	Palm tree, olive tree
Genealogy
Born	Kos or Hyperborea
Parents	Coeus and Phoebe
Siblings	Asteria
Consort	Zeus
Offspring	Apollo and Artemis
Equivalents
Roman	Latona
Egyptian	Wadjet

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (/ˈliːtoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Λητώ, romanized: Lētṓ pronounced [lɛːtɔ̌ː]) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.^[1]

In the Olympian scheme, the king of gods Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis,^[2] whom Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eye of Zeus. During her pregnancy, Leto sought for a place where she could give birth to Apollo and Artemis, since Hera, the wife of Zeus, in her jealousy, ordered all lands to shun her and deny her shelter. Hera is also the one to have sent the monstrous serpent Python and the giant Tityos against Leto to pursue and harm her. Leto eventually found an island, Delos, that was not joined to the mainland or attached to the ocean floor, therefore it was not considered land or island and she could give birth.^[3] In some stories, Hera further tormented Leto by delaying her labour, leaving Leto in agony for days before she could deliver the twins, who proceed to slay her assailants.

Besides the myth of the birth of Apollo and Artemis, Leto appears in other notable myths, usually where she punishes mortals for their hubris against her. After some Lycian peasants prevented her and her infants from drinking from a fountain, Leto transformed them all into frogs inhabiting the fountain. When Niobe boasts of being a better mother than Leto due to having given birth to a greater number of children than the goddess and mocks the appearance of her twins, Leto then asks her children to avenge her, and they respond by shooting all of Niobe's sons and daughters dead as punishment.

Usually, Leto is found at Olympus among the other gods, having gained her seat next to Zeus, or accompanying and helping her children in their various endeavors. She was usually worshipped in conjunction with her children, particularly in the sacred island of Delos, as a kourotrophic deity, the goddess of motherhood; in Lycia she was a mother goddess.

In Roman mythology, Leto's Roman equivalent is Latona, a Latinization of her name, influenced by the Etruscan Letun.^[4]

^ Hesiod, Theogony 404–409
^ Pindar consistently refers to the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis as twins; other sources instead give separate birthplaces for the siblings.
^ Károly Kerényi notes, The Gods of the Greeks 1951:130, "His twin sister is usually already on the scene".
^ Letun noted is passing in Larissa Bonfante and Judith Swaddling, Etruscan Myths (series: The Legendary Past) (British Museum/University of Texas Press) 2006, p. 72.

[:theg-1] Hesiod, Theogony 404–409

[2] Pindar consistently refers to the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis as twins; other sources instead give separate birthplaces for the siblings.

[3] Károly Kerényi notes, The Gods of the Greeks 1951:130, "His twin sister is usually already on the scene".

[4] Letun noted is passing in Larissa Bonfante and Judith Swaddling, Etruscan Myths (series: The Legendary Past) (British Museum/University of Texas Press) 2006, p. 72.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Leto
Childhood goddess
Leto with the infants Apollo and Artemis, by Francesco Pozzi (1824)
Abode	Delos, Olympus
Animals	Rooster, wolf, weasel, gryphon
Symbol	Veil, dates
Tree	Palm tree, olive tree
Genealogy
Born	Kos or Hyperborea
Parents	Coeus and Phoebe
Siblings	Asteria
Consort	Zeus
Offspring	Apollo and Artemis
Equivalents
Roman	Latona
Egyptian	Wadjet