Leto
A gentle Titaness and mother of the twin Olympians Apollo and Artemis, persecuted by Hera across the world before finding refuge on Delos.
The Myth of Leto
Leto was a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, which made her a second-generation Titaness associated with the night sky and hidden knowledge. She was quiet and unassuming by divine standards, but her fate became anything but peaceful when Zeus fell in love with her. When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant with twins fathered by Zeus, she unleashed a campaign of persecution. Hera decreed that no land under the sun could offer Leto shelter to give birth. She also sent the serpent Python to chase Leto across the earth. Exhausted and desperate, Leto wandered from country to country, refused by every shore. Finally the barren, floating island of Delos — which technically was not fixed land and so fell outside Hera's curse — agreed to receive her. There, clinging to a palm tree beside a sacred lake, Leto gave birth first to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. The infant Artemis then immediately helped her mother deliver her twin brother Apollo, god of light, music, and prophecy. Delos became one of the holiest sites in Greece as a result. Leto remained a respected figure on Olympus afterward, though she rarely sought the spotlight. Her story became a symbol of maternal endurance against impossible odds.
Parents
Coeus and Phoebe
Children
Apollo, Artemis
Symbols
Fun Fact
The entire island of Delos was considered so sacred because of Leto's labour there that for centuries no one was permitted to be born or to die on it.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
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