Editing Leto (section)

== Mythology ==

=== Birth of Artemis and Apollo ===
[[File:Metropolitan Richart Latona.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Leto with her children, by [[William Henry Rinehart]]]]

==== Earlier accounts ====
[[Hesiod]] makes her the sixth out of the seven wives of Zeus, who bore his children before his marriage to Hera,<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/4#912 912&ndash;920]; Morford, p. 211.</ref> however this element is absent in later accounts, all of which speak of a liaison between the two, that ended up in Leto falling pregnant. When Hera, the goddess of marriage and family, queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus, figured it out, she pursued her relentlessly.

The ''[[Homeric Hymn]] 3 to Apollo'' is the oldest extant account of Leto's wandering and birth of her children, but it is only concerned with the birth of Apollo, and treats Artemis as an afterthought; in fact the hymn does not even state that Leto's children are twins, and they are given different birthplaces (he in Delos, she in [[Ortygia]]).{{sfn|Shelmerdine|1995|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=VVowBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}} The first to speak of Leto's children being twins is a slightly later poet, Pindar.{{sfn|Rutherford|2001|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gPjZOB1YNqAC&pg=PA368 368]}} The two earliest poets, [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]], confirm Artemis and Apollo's status as full siblings born to Leto by Zeus, but neither explicitly makes them twins.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 1.9] and [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D21%3Acard%3D502 21.502–510]; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D901 918–920]</ref>

[[File:Latona with Her Children Apollo and Diana LACMA M.78.86.jpg|thumb|250px|Leto holding Apollo, by Lazar Widmann|left]]

According to the ''Homeric Hymn'' 3 ''to Delian Apollo'', Leto travelled far and wide to find a place to give birth, but none of them dared be the birthplace of Apollo. After having arrived at Delos, she labored for nine nights and nine days, in the presence of Dione, [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], [[Ichnaea]], Themis and [[Amphitrite]].<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] ''3'' to [[Apollo]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D89 89&ndash;97].</ref> Only Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, was not present; she, unaware of the situation, was with jealous Hera on Olympus.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] ''3'' to [[Apollo]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D89 98&ndash;102]; Gantz p. 38.</ref> 

[[File:Arte romana, latona in fuga con artemide e apollo, 350-400 dc ca. (kunstsien stichting).jpg|thumb|right|220px|''Leto on the run with Artemis and Apollo'', Roman statue circa 350-400 AD]]

Her absence, which was preventing Leto from giving birth, kept her in labor for nine days. According to the Homeric hymn, the goddesses who assembled to witness the birth of Apollo were responding to a public occasion in the rites of a dynasty, where the authenticity of the child must be established beyond doubt from the first moment.

The dynastic rite of the witnessed birth must have been familiar to the hymn's hearers.<ref>Greek women, at least among Athenians, gave birth in the midst of a crowd of women from the household.</ref> The dynasty that is so concerned about being authenticated in this myth is the new dynasty of Zeus and the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian Pantheon]], and the goddesses at Delos who bear witness to the rightness of the birth are the great goddesses of the old order. 

Demeter was not present and [[Aphrodite]] was not either, but Rhea attended. The goddess Dione (her name simply means "divine" or "she-Zeus") is sometimes taken by later mythographers as a mere feminine form of Zeus (see entry [[Dodona]]). If that was the case, she would not have assembled there. Then, on the ninth day, Eileithyia was sent for by the messenger goddess [[Iris (mythology)|Iris]], who persuaded her with a necklace and brought her to Delos.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] ''3'' to [[Apollo]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D89 103&ndash;114]; Gantz p. 38.</ref> 

As soon as Eileithyia arrived, Apollo was finally allowed to be born, and was given [[ambrosia]] and nectar by [[Themis]], rather than breastmilk.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] ''3'' to [[Apollo]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D89 115&ndash;124]; Gantz p. 38.</ref> Preceding the myth of Apollo's birth, the preface of the hymn begins with the status quo that was then established, namely that Leto is now by the side of Zeus in Olympus, both proudly watching Apollo exercise his archery skills, and she is ever glad for having borne the king of gods such a splendid son and archer.

==== Later accounts ====
According to the ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'', "But Latona for her intrigue with Zeus was hunted by Hera over the whole earth, till she came to Delos and brought forth first Artemis, by the help of whose midwifery she afterwards gave birth to Apollo."<ref>''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.4.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022 1.4.1]; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#35 35], giving as his sources Menecrates of Xanthos (4th century BCE) and [[Nicander]] of Colophon; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph6.htm#480077263 6.317–381] provides another late literary source.</ref>

[[Antoninus Liberalis]] hints that Leto came down from [[Hyperborea]] in the guise of a she-wolf, or that she sought out the "wolf-country" of Lycia, formerly called Tremilis, which she renamed to honour wolves that had befriended her.<ref>Antoninus Liberalis' [[etiology|etiological myth]] reflects Greek misunderstanding of a Greek origin for the place-name ''Lycia''; modern scholars now suggest a source in the "[[Lukka lands]]" of Hittite inscriptions (Bryce 1983:5).</ref> Another late source, [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], also links Leto with wolves and Hyperboreans:

<blockquote>Wolves are not easily delivered of their young, only after twelve days and twelve nights, for the people of Delos maintain that this was the length of time that it took Leto to travel from the Hyperboreoi to Delos.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''On the Nature of Animals'' [https://topostext.org/work/560#4.4 4.4] (A.F. Scholfield, tr.).</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Marcantonio Franceschini 002.jpg|thumb|left|260px|''The Birth of Apollo and Diana'', [[Marcantonio Franceschini]], [[oil on canvas]], ca 1692-1709,	[[Liechtenstein Museum]].]]

Leto found the barren floating island of Delos, still bearing its archaic name of Asterios, which was neither mainland nor a real island and gave birth there, promising the island wealth from the worshippers who would flock to the obscure birthplace of the splendid god who was to come. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars and later became sacred to Apollo.

[[File:1769 Mengs Latona mit ihren Kindern Apoll und Diana Historisches Museum Bamberg anagoria.jpg|thumb|''Latona with her children Apollo and Diana'', oil painting, [[Anton Raphael Mengs]], 1769]]

[[Callimachus]] states that not only did every place on earth refuse to give sanctuary to Leto out of fear of Hera, but the queen of gods had also deployed [[Ares]] and Iris to drive Leto away from anywhere she tried to settle in, so she would not give birth to her twins.<ref>[[Callimachus]], ''Hymn to Delos'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/callimachus-hymns_hymn_iv_delos/1921/pb_LCL129.89.xml 67&ndash;69]</ref> Leto considered the island of Kos for a birthplace, but Apollo, still in the womb, advised his mother against giving birth to him there, saying Kos was fated to be the birthplace of [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|someone else]].<ref>[[Callimachus]], ''Hymns'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/callimachus-hymns_hymn_iv_delos/1921/pb_LCL129.99.xml?result=4&rskey=An74ab 4.159-172]</ref> He later urged his mother to go to Delos,<ref>[[Callimachus]], ''Hymns'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/callimachus-hymns_hymn_iv_delos/1921/pb_LCL129.101.xml?result=4&rskey=An74ab 4.190-195]</ref> who used to Leto's sister Asteria. Delos was the only place on earth willing to receive Leto when she went into labour, defying Hera's orders.<ref name=":0">[[Callimachus]], ''Hymn to Delos'' [https://archive.org/details/callimachuslycop00calluoft/page/104/mode/2up?view=theater 240–248]</ref> Callimachus wrote that it is remarkable that Leto brought forth Artemis, the elder twin, without travail<ref>[[Callimachus]], ''Hymn 3 to Artemis'' [http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/artemis.html 24-25]; Artemis speaks: "my mother suffered no pain either when she gave me birth or when she carried me in her womb, but without travail put me from her body".</ref> despite her exhausting journey. Although Hera was enraged that Asteria had defied her and allowed Leto to give birth to the products of Zeus' liaison, she did no harm to Asteria, out of respect for her for not sleeping with Zeus when he chased her, thus not further defiling Hera's marriage.<ref name=":0" />

[[Libanius]] wrote that neither land nor visible islands would receive Leto, but by the will of Zeus Delos then became visible, and thus received Leto and the children.<ref>[[Libanius]], ''[[Progymnasmata]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=kRi-If9IAOYC&pg=PA28 2.25]</ref>

According to [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], when Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant by Zeus, she banned Leto from giving birth on "[[Solid earth|terra firma]]", the mainland, any island at sea, or any place under the sun. But Zeus then sent [[Anemoi#Boreas|Boreas]], the god of the north wind, to Leto, who brought her to [[Poseidon]]. Poseidon then raised high waves above [[Ortygia]], shielding it from the light of the sun with a water dome; it was later called the island of Delos. There Leto, clinging to an olive tree, bore Apollo and Artemis after four days.<ref name=":fab">[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#140 140]; March s.v. [https://archive.org/details/casselldictionar00jenn/page/233/mode/2up?view=theater Leto]</ref>

According to the Homeric Hymn and the ''[[Orphic Hymns|Orphic Hymn]]'' 35 ''to Leto'', Artemis was born on the island of [[Ortygia]] before Apollo was on Delos.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]]'' 3 ''to [[Apollo]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D1 14&ndash;18]; Gantz, p. 38; cf. ''[[Orphic Hymns|Orphic Hymn]]'' 35 ''to Leto'', 3&ndash;5 (Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. 31).</ref> [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] also states that Artemis was born before Apollo, however he claims that she was born at Coressus.<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], [https://topostext.org/work/241#K373.9 s.v. Κορησσός].</ref>

According to a local tradition, Apollo was not born on Delos at all, but in Tegyra, a town in [[Boeotia]], where he was worshipped as Apollo Tegyraeus.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Pelopidas'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0054%3Achapter%3D16%3Asection%3D3 16.3]</ref>

[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], a grammarian who lived during the late 300s AD and early 400s AD, wrote that Artemis was born first because first came the night, whose instrument is the moon, which Artemis represents, and then the day, whose instrument is the sun, which Apollo represents.<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on [[Virgil|Virgil's]] [[Aeneid]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D3%3Acommline%3D73 3.73]</ref> Pindar however writes that both twins shone like the sun when they came into the bright light.{{sfn|Rutherford|2001|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rutherford-2001-pindars-paeans/page/364/mode/2up?view=theater 364–365]}}

=== Chthonic assailants ===
[[File:Apollo Tityos Leto Louvre G375.jpg|thumb|left|260px|Apollo piercing with his arrows Tityos, who has tried to rape his mother Leto (c. 450–440 BC)]]

Leto was threatened and assailed in her wanderings by ancient earth creatures that had to be overcome, [[chthonic|chthonic monsters of the ancient earth]] and old ways, and these became the enemies of Apollo and Artemis for attempting to cause harm to their mother.

One of the monsters that came across Leto was the dragon [[Python (mythology)|Python]], which lived in a cleft of the mother-rock beneath Delphi and beside the [[Castalian Spring]]. Once Python knew that Leto was pregnant to Zeus, he hunted her down with the intention to harm her, and once he could not find her, he returned to [[Parnassus]].<ref name=":fab"/> 

An epigram from 159 BC seems to imply that Python in particular wanted to rape Leto.{{sfn|Ogden|2013|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ2pAK9luwkC&pg=PA47 47]}}{{efn|The ambiguity here lies in the use of the verb chosen, {{lang|grc|σκυλάω}} (''skuláō''), alternative form of {{lang|grc|σκυλεύω}} (''skuleúō''), meaning το strip or despoil a slain enemy of his arms and gear,{{sfn|Ogden|2013|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ2pAK9luwkC&pg=PA47 47]}}<ref>''[[A Greek–English Lexicon]]'' s.v. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*s111%3Aentry+group%3D47%3Aentry%3Dskuleu%2Fw {{lang|grc|σκυλεύω}}]</ref> not entirely applicable to the myth of a mother fleeing from danger. Compare also {{lang|grc|σκυλλώ}} (''skullṓ''), meaning "to maltreat, to molest."<ref>''[[A Greek–English Lexicon]]'' s.v. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*s111%3Aentry+group%3D47%3Aentry%3Dsku%2Fllw {{lang|grc|σκυλλώ}}]</ref>}} According to some, Python was sent by Hera herself to attack Leto, out of jealousy for having been preferred by Zeus{{sfn|van der Toorn|Becking|van der Horst|1999|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA670 670]}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1959|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=h56ansk4SyQC&pg=PA18 18]}} and he knew of a prophecy that he would find death at the hands of Leto's unborn son.<ref name=":fab" />{{sfn|Fontenrose|1959|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=h56ansk4SyQC&pg=PA18 18]}}[[File:Tityos Leto Louvre G42.jpg|thumb|right|The Rape of Leto by [[Tityos]] (c. 515 BC): Apollo (left), tries to grasp Tityos, Leto (middle) pushes him and Artemis (right), ready to stop him. Attic red-figure amphora from Vulci. c. 510–520 BCE, by [[Phintias (painter)|Phintias Painter]]. [[Louvre]], Paris.]]According to [[Clearchus of Soli]], while Python was pursuing them, Leto stepped on a stone and, holding her son in her hands, cried {{lang|grc|ἵε παῖ}} (''híe paî'', meaning "shoot, child") to Apollo, who was holding a bow and arrows.{{sfn|Mayhew|Mirhady|Dorandi|White|2022|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oiVmEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 68]}} Apollo slew it but had to do penance and be cleansed afterward, since though Python was a child of Gaia, it was necessary that the ancient [[Pythia|Delphic Oracle]] passed to the protection of the new god.

Another one was the giant [[Tityos]], a phallic being who grew so vast that he split his mother's womb and had to be carried to term by [[Gaia]] (the Earth) herself. He attempted to rape Leto near [[Delphi]]<ref>[[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' [https://archive.org/details/argonautica00apoluoft/page/54/mode/2up?view=theater 1.758 ff]</ref> under the orders of Hera, like Python was, for having slept with Zeus,<ref>Pseudo-[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#55 55]</ref> or alternatively he was simply overwhelmed with lust when he saw her.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.4.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022 1.4.1]</ref> 

Tityos took hold of Leto and attempted to force himself on her, but she called out for her children, and Tityos was laid low by the arrows of Apollo and/or Artemis, as Pindar recalled in a Pythian ode. As he laid dying, his mother Gaia moaned over her slain son; Leto only laughed.<ref>[[Quintus Smyrnaeus]], ''[[Posthomerica|Fall of Troy]]'' [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.183739/page/n149/mode/2up?view=theater 3.390 ff]</ref> For the crime of having tried to rape Leto, one of Zeus' mistresses, he was punished by having his liver being constantly eaten by two vultures in the [[Greek Underworld|Underworld]].<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D11%3Acard%3D567 11.580 ff]</ref>{{efn|Compare the punishment of [[Prometheus]].}}

=== Involvement in wars ===
[[File:Altar Pérgamo Latona 01.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Leto fights Giants between her twins, Gigantomachy east frieze, [[Pergamon Altar]], [[Pergamon Museum]], [[Berlin]].]]

Leto fought alongside the other gods during the [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Gigantomachy]], as evidenced from her depiction on the east frieze of the [[Pergamon Altar]], fighting a Giant between her children Artemis and Apollo;<ref>Ridgeway, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6Jj6rcIup4C&pg=PA35 p. 35].</ref> None of the other Gigantomachy depictions includes Leto, although her presence is conjectured in one of the missing sections of the [[Siphnian Treasury|Siphnian frieze]] from Delphi, another relief depiction of the battle of the gods against the Giants.{{sfn|Fontenrose|1959|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=h56ansk4SyQC&pg=PA56 56]}}

When the gigantic [[Typhon]] attacked Olympus, all the gods transformed into animals and fled to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] terrified,<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph5.php#anchor_Toc64106315 5.139] ff</ref> or alternatively Typhon attacked them once they had assembled in Egypt in great numbers.<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''De astronomia'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.28.2 2.28.2]</ref> Leto turned into a [[shrew]] mouse.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#28 28]</ref> Leto was equated with the Egyptian goddess [[Wadjet]], a cobra goddess, however other Egyptian gods and goddesses were also connected to shrew mice.{{sfn|Celoria|1992|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cHt0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}} Additionally, the Egyptians would embalm small animals like ichneumons and shrew mice and put their mummies in bronze containers.{{sfn|Celoria|1992|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cHt0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}}

[[File:(28) Flaxman Ilias 1793, gestochen 1795, 192 x 343 mm.jpg|thumb|right|280px|''Leto and her children come to Troy's aid'', Iliad engraving, [[John Flaxman]].]]

Leto also took part in the [[Trojan War]], on the Trojans' side, along with her children Apollo and Artemis. When Apollo saved [[Aeneas]] from the battlefield, he brought him to one of his own temples in nearby Pergamus, where he was healed by Artemis and Leto.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/2#5.445 5.445]</ref> Later, when the gods battle each other, Leto supports the Trojans, standing opposite of [[Hermes]], who supports the Achaeans.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/2#20.40 20.40]</ref> 

After witnessing Hera defeat Artemis and beating her with her own bow, and Artemis fleeing in tears, Hermes refuses to challenge Leto, encouraging her to simply tell everyone she beat him fair and square. Leto picks up Artemis's discarded bow and arrows and runs after her crying daughter.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/2#21.495 21.495]</ref> According to a scholium on the ''[[Iliad]]'' that claims to report [[Theagenes of Rhegium|Theagenes]]'s interpretation of the gods' battle, Hermes here represents reason and rationality (''{{lang|grc|λόγος}}'', "logos") as opposed to Leto, who stands in for forgetfulness (''{{lang|grc|λήθη}}'', "lethe", perhaps a wordplay on Leto's name).<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://archive.org/details/scholiagraecainh02homeuoft/page/194/mode/2up 20.67]</ref>

=== Favour myths ===
[[File:Votive relief with Apollo, Leto and Artemis (5th cent. B.C.) at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on 4 July 2018.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Leto with Artemis and Apollo, votive relief, fifth century BC, [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]].]]

After [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]]'s sight was restored, he met with Artemis and Leto and joined them in hunting, where he bragged about being such a great hunter he could kill every animal on earth, angering [[Gaia]] who sent a giant scorpion to kill him.<ref name=":pseuder"/><ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''De astronomia'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.26.2 2.26.2]</ref> In one version, Orion dies after pushing Leto out of the scorpion's way. Afterwards, Leto (and Artemis) placed Orion among the stars (the constellation [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]]).<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/OvidFastiBkFive.php#anchor_Toc69367925 5.539]</ref><ref name=":pseuder">Pseudo-[[Eratosthenes]], ''[[Catasterismi|Placings Among the Stars]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=0EoZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA162 Orion]</ref>

[[Clinis]] was a rich Babylonian man who deeply respected Apollo. Having witnessed the [[Hyperborea]]ns sacrifice donkeys to Apollo, he attempted to do the same, only to be prohibited by the god himself under pain of death. Clinis obeyed and sent the donkeys away, but two of his sons proceeded with the sacrifice anyway. Apollo, enraged, drove the donkeys mad which then began to devour the entire family. Leto and Artemis felt sorry for Clinis, his third son and his daughter, who had done nothing to deserve such fate. Apollo allowed his mother and sister to save those three, and the goddesses changed them into birds before they could be killed by the donkeys.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#20 20]</ref>

[[File:Brauron - Relief of the Gods.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Leto with Zeus and their children, 420-410 BC, marble, [[Archaeological Museum of Brauron]].]]

In one version, Leto, along with her daughter Artemis, stood before Zeus with tearful eyes while her son Apollo pleaded with him to release [[Prometheus]] (the god who had stolen fire from the gods, give them to humans, and was subsequently chained in the [[Caucasus]] with an eagle feasting on his liver each day for punishment) from his eternal torment. Zeus, moved by Artemis and Leto's tears and Apollo's words, agreed instantly and commanded [[Heracles]] to free Prometheus.<ref>[[Gaius Valerius Flaccus (poet)|Valerius Flaccus]], ''Argonautica'' [https://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus4.html 4.60]</ref>

[[Praxilla]] wrote that [[Carneus]] was a son of Zeus and [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]], and that he was brought up by Apollo and Leto.<ref>[[Praxilla]], fr. 753 Campbell [= [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''[[Description of Greece]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D13%3Asection%3D5 3.13.5]].</ref>

When Apollo killed the [[Cyclopes#Hesiodic Cyclopes|Cyclopes]] in revenge for Zeus slaying his son [[Asclepius]], a gifted healer who could bring the dead back to life, with a thunderbolt, Zeus was about to punish Apollo by throwing him into [[Tartarus]], but Leto interceded for him, and Apollo became bondman to a mortal king named [[Admetus]] instead.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [[wikisource:Hesiod,_the_Homeric_Hymns_and_Homerica/The_Catalogues_of_Women#213|frag 90 and 91]]</ref><ref>Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Library]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D10%3Asection%3D4 3.10.4]</ref> Apollo happily served Admetus, and enthusiastically undertook several domestic chores during his servitude with him. Leto is said to have despaired at the sight of his unkempt and disheveled locks, which had been admired by even Hera.<ref>[[Tibullus]], ''Elegies'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Tibullus.php#anchor_Toc532635320 2.3.27–28]</ref>

In [[Crete]] lived a poor couple, Galatea and Lamprus. When Galatea fell pregnant, Lamprus warned her that if the child turned out to be female, he would expose it. Galatea gave birth while Lamprus was away, and the infant proved indeed to be a girl. Galatea, fearing her husband, lied to him and told him it was a boy instead whom she named [[Leucippus (daughter of Galatea)|Leucippus]] ("white horse"). But as the years passed, Leucippus grew to be an exceptionally beautiful girl, and her true sex could no longer be concealed. Galatea fled to the temple of Leto, and prayed to the goddess to change Leucippus into an actual boy. Leto took pity in mother and child, and fulfilled Galatea's wish, changing Leucippus's sex into that of a boy's. To celebrate this, the people at [[Phaistos]] sacrificed to Leto Phytia during the [[Ecdysia]] ("stripping naked") festival in her honour.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#17 17]</ref>

=== Wrath myths ===
[[File:Giocatrici-di-astragali.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|Phoebe pacifying Leto and Niobe while two Niobids play [[knucklebones]], fresco of [[Herculaneum]], 1st century AD, [[National Archaeological Museum, Naples]].]]

Leto's introduction into [[Lycia]] was met with resistance. There, according to [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'',<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph6.php#anchor_Toc64106370 6.317-81]; see also [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#35 35]</ref> when Leto was wandering the earth after giving birth to Apollo and Artemis, she attempted to drink water from a pond in Lycia.<ref>The spring Melite, according to Kerenyi 1951:131.</ref> The peasants there refused to allow her to do so by stirring the mud at the bottom of the pond. Leto turned them into frogs for their inhospitality, forever doomed to swim in the murky waters of ponds and rivers.

[[File:Tintoretto, tavole per un soffitto a palazzo pisani in san paterniano a venezia, 1541-42, latona trasforma i contadini della licia.jpg|thumb|left|''Latona transforms the
[[Lycian peasants]] into frogs'', Palazzo dei Musei ([[Modena]])]]

[[Niobe]] was a queen of [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]] and wife of [[Amphion]] of whom [[Sappho]] wrote that "Lato and Niobe were most dear friends",<ref>[[Sappho]] frag [https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/usappho/sph30.htm 127]</ref> although she is most famous for boasting of her superiority to Leto because she had fourteen children ([[Niobe|Niobids]]), seven sons and seven daughters, while Leto had only two. She also mocked Apollo's effeminate appearance and Artemis' manly appearance. For her [[hubris]], Leto asks her children to take revenge. Apollo killed her sons as they practiced athletics, and Artemis killed her daughters. Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though according to some versions<!--see Chloris for citations please--> a number of the Niobids were spared. Other sources say that Artemis spared one of the girls (usually [[Chloris]], sometimes alongside her brother Amyclas, because the two prayed to Leto). Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Zeus after swearing revenge. A devastated Niobe fled to [[Mount Sipylus]] in [[Asia Minor]] and either turned to stone as she wept or killed herself. Her tears formed the river [[Achelous]]. Zeus had turned all the people of Thebes to stone so no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death when the gods themselves entombed them.

The Niobe narrative appears in Ovid's ''[[Metamorphoses]]''<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph6.htm#480077260 6.146]–[https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph6.htm#480077262 6.312]</ref> where Leto has demanded the women of Thebes to go to her temple and burn incense. Niobe, queen of Thebes, enters in the midst of the worship and insults the goddess, claiming that having beauty, better parentage and more children than Leto, she is more fit to be worshipped than the goddess. To punish this insolence, Leto begs Apollo and Artemis to avenge her against Niobe and to uphold her honor. Obedient to their mother, the twins slay Niobe's seven sons and seven daughters, leaving her childless, and her husband Amphion kills himself. Niobe is unable to move from grief and seemingly turns to marble, though she continues to weep, and her body is transported to a high mountain peak in her native land.

=== Other works ===
[[File:Apollo Tityos Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2689.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Apollo slays Tityos next to Leto, Attic [[red-figure]] kylix, 460–450 BC, by the [[Penthesilea Painter]], [[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]].]]

[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]] writes that the [[rooster]] is Leto's sacred animal as he was by her side when she gave birth to her twins; this is why ancient women would have a rooster at hand while delivering their children, believing the bird to promote an easy childbirth.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''On Animals'' [https://topostext.org/work/560#4.29 4.29]</ref> He also wrote that the ichneumon ([[mongoose]]) is also sacred to her.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''On Animals'' [https://topostext.org/work/560#10.47 10.47]</ref>

Satirical author [[Lucian]] of [[Samosata]] featured Leto in one of his ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]''. There, Hera mocks Leto over the children she gave Zeus, downplaying Artemis and Apollo's importance while bringing up their flaws (such as the flaying of [[Marsyas]], or the killing of the [[Niobids]]). Leto sarcastically says that not all goddesses can be blessed to be the mother of gods like [[Hephaestus]], and calmly tells Hera that she might feel confident belittling everyone due to her status as queen of the gods as the wife of Zeus, but she will cry and sob all the same the next time he shall abandon her for the love of some mortal woman.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'': [http://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php?id=home:texts_and_library:dialogues:dialogues-of-the-gods#section16 Hera and Leto]</ref>

In one of his ''Idylls'', poet [[Theocritus]] asks Leto to bless the newlyweds [[Menelaus]] and [[Helen of Troy|Helen]] with children.<ref>[[Theocritus]], ''Idylls'' [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.86553/page/n75/mode/2up?view=theater 18: An Epithalamium for Helen].</ref>

In [[Orphism (religion)|Orphism]], there were several "theogonies" which, similar to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', told myths explaining and describing the origin of the world and the gods.<ref>See West 1983, pp. 1&ndash;3; Meisner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 p. 1]; Athanassakis and Wolkow, pp. xi&ndash;xii.</ref> These texts, though now no longer extant in their entirety, survive in fragments.<ref>Meisner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ethjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 pp. 4&ndash;5].</ref> One of these works, the "Rhapsodic Theogony", or Rhapsodies, (first century BC/AD)<ref>Meisner, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1], [https://books.google.com/books?id=ethjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 5]; cf. West 1983, pp. 261&ndash;262.</ref> apparently called Leto the mother of [[Hecate]].<ref>[[Proclus]], ''Commentary on Plato's Cratylus'' 406 b (p. 106, 25 Pasqu.)  [= Orphic [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/214/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 188 Kern]] [= OF 317 Bernabé]; West 1983, pp. 266, 267. The fragment is as follows: "Straightaway divine Hecate, the daughter of lovely-haired Leto, approached Olympus, leaving behind the limbs of the child." (Johnston 2012, p. 123). Compare with Orphic frr. [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/112/mode/2up?view=theater 41] [= Scholiast on [[Apollonius Rhodius]] III 467 p. 463, 9], [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/112/mode/2up?view=theater 42] [= Scholiast on [[Theocritus]] II 12 p. 272, 18 Wend.] [= [[Callimachus]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=wkr-0O4Un9oC&pg=PA691 fr. 556 Schneid.]] Kern, in which Hecate is called the daughter of [[Demeter]]. For a discussion of the fragment, see Johnston 2012.</ref>

A fragment of [[Aeschylus]] possibly has Leto as the mother of the [[List of lunar deities|moon goddess]] [[Selene]],<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA46 p. 46], Gantz, pp. 34&ndash;35; [[Aeschylus]] [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-attributed_fragments/2009/pb_LCL505.173.xml fr. 170 Sommerstein] [= fr. 170 Radt, Nauck].</ref> as does a [[Scholia|scholium]] on [[Euripides]]'s tragedy ''[[The Phoenician Women]]'' which adds Zeus as the father.<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Euripides]]' ''[[The Phoenician Women]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=lUNhAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA54 179]</ref><ref>[[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DS%3Aentry+group%3D11%3Aentry%3Dselene-bio-1 s.v. Selene]</ref>  In [[Virgil]]'s epic the ''[[Aeneid]]'', when [[Nisus and Euryalus|Nisus]] addresses the Moon/[[Luna (goddess)|Luna]], he calls her "daughter of [[Latona]]."<ref>[[Virgil]], the ''[[Aeneid]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/245#9.367 9.404]</ref>