Editing Leto

{{short description|Greek goddess and mother of Apollo and Artemis}}
{{About|the Greek goddess|other uses}}
{{redirect|Latona}}
{{Infobox deity
| type             = Greek
| name             = Leto
| image            = Latona with the infants Apollo and Artemis, by Francesco Pozzi, 1824, marble - Sculpture Gallery, Chatsworth House - Derbyshire, England - DSC03504.jpg
| alt              = 
| caption          = ''Leto with the infants Apollo and Artemis'', by [[Francesco Pozzi]] (1824)
| god_of           = Childhood goddess
| abode            = [[Delos]], [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]]
| animals          = [[Rooster]], [[wolf]], [[weasel]], [[griffin|gryphon]]
| symbol           = [[Veil]], [[Date palm|dates]]
| tree             = [[Palm tree]], [[olive tree]]
| birth_place      = [[Kos]] or [[Hyperborea]]
| consort          = [[Zeus]]
| parents          = [[Coeus]] and [[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]
| siblings         = [[Asteria]]
| offspring        = [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]]
| mount            = 
| Roman_equivalent = Latona
| equivalent2_type = Egyptian
| equivalent2      = [[Wadjet]]
}}
{{Ancient Greek religion}}

In ancient [[Greek mythology]] and [[Ancient Greek religion|religion]], '''Leto''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|t|oʊ}}; {{langx|grc|{{linktext|Λητώ}}|Lētṓ}} {{IPA|grc|lɛːtɔ̌ː|pron}}) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the [[Titans]] [[Coeus]] and [[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]], the sister of [[Asteria]], and the mother of [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]].<ref name=":theg">[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D404 404–409]</ref> 

In the Olympian scheme, the king of gods [[Zeus]] is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis,<ref>[[Pindar]] consistently refers to the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis as twins; other sources instead give separate birthplaces for the siblings.</ref> 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 (mythology)|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.<ref>[[Károly Kerényi]] notes, ''The Gods of the Greeks'' 1951:130, "His twin sister is usually already on the scene".</ref> 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 ''[[Kourotrophos|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 language|Etruscan]] ''Letun''.<ref>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.</ref> 

== Etymology ==
[[File:Hieros Gamos.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Relief from the 2nd century, staging the marriage of Zeus and Leto,  Hierapolis Museum.]]

'Leto' is [[Attic Greek]]; in the [[Ancient Greek dialects#Provenance|Doric Greek]] dialect, spoken in [[Sparta]] and the [[Laconia|surrounding areas]] her name was spelled Lato with an alpha instead ({{langx|grc|Λατώ|Latṓ}}; {{IPA|el|laːtɔ̌ː|pron}}).{{sfnp|Liddell|Scott|1940|loc=s.v. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=*lhtw / {{math|Λητώ}}]}}

There are several explanations for the origin of the goddess and the meaning of her name. Older sources speculated that the name is related to the Greek {{math|λήθη}} ''lḗthē'' ([[lethe]], [[Eternal oblivion|oblivion]]) and {{math|λωτός}} ''[[Lotus-eaters|lotus]]'' (the fruit that brings oblivion to those who eat it). It would thus mean "the hidden one".<ref>{{cite dictionary |author-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |author=Smith, W. |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DL%3Aentry+group%3D12%3Aentry%3Dleto-bio-1 |title=''s.v.'' Leto |website=Perseus |publisher=[[Tufts University]]}}</ref>

In 20th&nbsp;century sources ''Leto'' is traditionally derived from [[Lycian language|Lycian]] ''lada'', "wife", as her earliest cult was centered in [[Lycia]]. [[Lycian language|Lycian]] ''lada'' may also be the origin of the Greek name {{math|Λήδα}} ''Leda''. Other scholars ([[Paul Kretschmer|Kretschmer]], [[Erich Bethe|Bethe]], [[Pierre Chantraine|Chantraine]], and [[Robert S. P. Beekes|Beekes]]) have suggested a [[pre-Greek]] origin.<ref name=robb>{{cite dictionary |first=R.S.P. |last=Beekes |author-link=Robert S. P. Beekes |year=2009 |title= {{lang|grc|Λητώ}} |dictionary=Etymological Dictionary of Greek |publisher=Brill |pages=855, 858–859}}</ref>

In [[Mycenaean Greek]] her name has been attested through the form ''Latios'', meaning "son of Leto" or "related to Leto" ([[Linear B]]: {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀨𐀴𐀍}}}}, ''ra-ti-jo''),<ref name=robb/><ref>{{cite web |title=ra-ti-jo  |website=palaeolexicon.com |url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/Word/Show/26496/ |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> and ''Lato'' (Linear B: {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀨𐀵}}}}, ''ra-to'').<ref>{{cite web |title=ra-to |website=palaeolexicon.com  |url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/Word/Show/16912/ |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref>{{sfnp|West|1995|p=99}}

== Origins ==
[[File:Елагин остров. Кухонный корпус. Латона.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Statue of Leto in the [[Yelagin Palace]], [[St. Petersburg]].]]

Leto was identified from the fourth century onwards as the principal local mother goddess of [[Anatolia]]n [[Lycia]], as the region became Hellenized.<ref>The process is discussed by T. R. Bryce, "The Arrival of the Goddess Leto in Lycia", ''Historia: Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte'', '''32'''1 (1983:1–13).</ref> In Greek inscriptions, the children of Leto are referred to as the "national gods" of the country.<ref>Bryce 1983:1 and note 2.</ref> Her sanctuary, the [[Letoon]] near [[Xanthos]], predated Hellenic influence in the region, however,<ref>Bryce 1983, summarizing the archaeology of the Letoon.</ref> united the Lycian confederacy of city-states. The Hellenes of [[Kos]] also claimed Leto as their own. Another sanctuary, more recently identified, was at [[Oenoanda]] in the north of Lycia.<ref>Alan Hall, "A Sanctuary of Leto at Oenoanda" ''Anatolian Studies'' '''27''' (1977) pp. 193–197. {{JSTOR|3642664}}</ref> There was a further Letoon at [[Delos]].

Leto is exceptional among [[Zeus]]' divine lovers for being the only one who was tormented by [[Hera]], who otherwise only directs her anger toward mortal women and nymphs, but not goddesses, thus being treated more in line with mortal women than divine beings in mythology.{{sfn|Rigoglioso|2009|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ifrHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110–112]}} Zeus had various affairs with goddesses like [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], [[Demeter]], [[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]], [[Maia]], [[Persephone]], [[Themis]], [[Mnemosyne]], [[Selene]], [[Nemesis]] and more, which were never harmed by Hera; the sole exception (besides Leto) is found in the ''[[Suda]]'', a late Byzantine lexicon which recounts the story of Hera cursing a pregnant [[Aphrodite]]'s belly, leading to the birth of [[Priapus]].{{sfn|Rigoglioso|2009|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ifrHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110–112]}} 

Moreover, Leto's troubled childbirth bears resemblance to [[Alcmene]]'s, as both suffered painful extended labours due to Hera not allowing [[Eileithyia]], the goddess of childbirth, to help them, and both stories overall are also thematically linked to the myth of [[Semele]] and her son [[Dionysus]], another story of a mortal woman who bore an important son for Zeus and was punished by Hera for that.{{sfn|Rigoglioso|2009|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ifrHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110–112]}} Yet at the same time Hesiodic tradition makes her the daughter of two Titans, elder gods, and one of Zeus' first seven wives. Leto's peculiar mythology and ontology has led to suggestions that she might be a composite of two figures, an immortal goddess who bore [[Artemis]], and a mortal woman who gave birth to [[Apollo]].{{sfn|Rigoglioso|2009|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ifrHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110–112]}}

== Family and attributes ==
Leto is the daughter of the [[Titans]] [[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]] and [[Coeus]].<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D404 404–408]; Gantz, p. 37; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA37 p. 37]; Caldwell, pp. 11-12; Grimal, s.v Leto; Tripp, s.v. Leto; Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DL%3Aentry+group%3D12%3Aentry%3Dleto-bio-1 s.v. Leto]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D2 1.2.2]; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#67.2 5.67.2]; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#0.2 Preface]; cf. [[Aeschylus]], ''[[The Eumenides]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0006%3Acard%3D1 5&ndash;8]. For a genealogical table of the family of Leto, see Grimal, p. 557.</ref><ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D404 409–411].</ref> Leto is also sometimes called the daughter of Coeus with no mother specified.<ref>[[Ovid]], [[Metamorphoses]] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D6%3Acard%3D146 6.146 ff.]; ''[[Orphic Hymns|Orphic Hymn]]'' 35 ''to Leto'' 1 (Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. 31); Pindar, [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AOdes_of_Pindar_(Myers).djvu/204 fr. ''Processional-Song in Honour of Delos''].</ref> The island of [[Kos]], in the southeast [[Aegean Sea]], is claimed to be her birthplace.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|The Annals]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D12%3Achapter%3D61 12.61]</ref> However, [[Diodorus Siculus]] states clearly that Leto was born in [[Hyperborea]] and not in Kos.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://topostext.org/work/133#2.47.1 2.47.1].</ref>

Her sister is [[Asteria]], who is, by the Titan [[Perses (Titan)|Perses]], the mother of [[Hecate]]. Both sisters captured Zeus's heart; first Leto, and then Asteria, who caught his attention after Leto had already been impregnated with his twins.<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D3%3Acommline%3D73 3.73]</ref> Unlike Leto, Asteria did not reciprocate his love and escaped his advances by transforming herself into a bird and then a wandering island, later renamed [[Delos]]. 

In Homeric texts, Leto is shown standing next to Zeus in the absence of Hera almost in the manner of a married wife, and not just one mistress among the many.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/leto-e702410# |date=2006 |access-date=April 19, 2023 |translator=Christine F. Salazar |website=referenceworks-brillonline-com.idm.oclc.org/subjects |last=Graf |first=Fritz |location=Columbus, Ohio |title=Leto |editor-first1=Hubert |editor-last1=Cancik |editor-first2=Helmuth |editor-last2=Schneider |doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e702410}}</ref> 

[[Hesiod]] describes Leto as "always mild, kind to men and to the deathless gods, mild from the beginning," the gentlest goddess in all [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]].<ref>Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White.</ref> [[Plato]] also makes references to Leto's softness when trying to link etymologically her name to the word ''ἐθελήμονα'' ("willing", i.e. to assist those asking for her help),<ref>[[Plato]], ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0172%3Atext%3DCrat.%3Asection%3D406a 406a].</ref> as well as ''λεῖον'' ("mild").<ref>[[Plato]], ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0172%3Atext%3DCrat.%3Asection%3D406b 406b].</ref> Next to [[Demeter]], Leto was the most celebrated mother of the ancient world.<ref name=":bell">Bell, s. v. [https://archive.org/details/womenofclassical00bell/page/278/mode/2up? Leto]</ref>

Hesiod describes Leto as "dark-gowned"<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D404 406].</ref> and the ''[[Orphic Hymns|Orphic Hymn]]'' 35 ''to Leto'' describes her as "dark-veiled" and "goddess who gave birth to twins" (''θεός διδυματόκος'').<ref>''[[Orphic Hymns|Orphic Hymn]]'' 35 ''to Leto'' 1 (Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. 31).</ref> In the ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Apollo'', she is described as golden-haired.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] 3 to [[Apollo]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D179 205]; Barker, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XX_A_hOLUI8C&pg=PA41 41]</ref>

== 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>

== Worship ==

=== Lycian Letoon and wider Asia Minor ===
[[File:Letoon stoa axb01.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.09|Ruined ancient sanctuary Letoon, next to the lake]]

Leto was intensely worshipped in Lycia, [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]],<ref>[[Appian]] tells of Mithridates' intention to cut down the [[sacred grove]] at the Letoon to serve in his siege of Patara on the Lycian coast; a nightmare warned him to desist. (Appian, ''Mithridates'', 27).</ref> where worship was particularly strong and widespread.<ref>Collins, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IKhKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA252 252]</ref> In Delos and [[Athens]] she was worshipped primarily as an adjunct to her children. [[Herodotus]] reported<ref>[[Herodotus]], ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D155 2.155-56].</ref> a temple to her in [[Egypt]] supposedly attached to a floating island<ref>"The claim that it floated is rightly dismissed by Herodotus&nbsp;– it probably reflects nothing more than contamination by Greek traditions on the floating island of Ortygia/Delos associated with Leto," remarks Alan B. Lloyd, "The temple of Leto (Wadjet) at Buto", in Anton Powell, ed. ''The Greek World'' (Routledge) 1995:190.</ref> called "[[Akhmim|Khemmis]]" in [[Buto]], which also included a temple to an Egyptian god Greeks identified by ''[[interpretatio graeca]]'' as Apollo. There, Herodotus was given to understand, the goddess whom Greeks recognised as Leto was worshipped in the form of [[Wadjet]], the cobra-headed goddess of Lower Egypt.

The ancient Greek colony of [[Marmaris|Physcus]] on the western coast of Asia Minor also contained a magnificent harbour and a grove sacred to Leto.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geography (Strabo)|Geography]]'', xiv; ''[[Stadiasmus Maris Magni]]'' § 245; [[Ptolemy|Ptol.]], ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' 5.2.11.</ref><ref>{{Cite DGRG|title=Physcus}}</ref>

=== Mainland Greece ===
[[File:Statue_of_Leto,_from_the_Roman_theatre,_end_of_2nd_century_AD,_Hierapolis_Archaeological_Museum,_Turkey_(17076417008).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Statue of Leto from the Roman theatre, 2nd century AD, Hierapolis Archaeological Museum, Turkey.]]

Leto also had a temple in [[Attica]]<ref>Simonides frag 13, from [[Plutarch]], ''On the Malice of Herodotus'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0352%3Asection%3D39 870f]</ref> as well as an altar, along with her children Apollo and Artemis in the village [[Zoster (Attica)|Zoster]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+1.31.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 1.31.1]</ref> [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] also described statues of Leto and her twins in Megara.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+1.44.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 1.44.2]</ref> Leto was worshipped in [[Boeotia]] in her children's temples.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+9.20.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 9.20.1]</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+9.22.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 9.22.1]</ref> In [[Phocis]], she was revered in [[Delphi]], sacred to her son Apollo.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+10.19.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 10.19.4]</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+10.35.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 10.35.4]</ref> She also had a temple in [[Cirrha]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+10.37.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 10.37.8]</ref> In [[Argolis]], Leto had a sanctuary with statues made by [[Praxiteles]] in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]],<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D21%3Asection%3D8 2.21.8]</ref> and images of her were also found on the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, near Argos.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D24%3Asection%3D5 2.24.5]</ref> Leto had a sanctuary near [[Lete (Mygdonia)|Lete]], [[Greek Macedonia|Macedonia]]. According to [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], [[Theagenes (historian)|Theagenes]] in his ''Macedonica'' stated that the town had been named after the goddess.<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], ''Ethnika'' s. v. [https://topostext.org/work/241#L413.19 Lete]; Malama et al., p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5MRlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT9 9, note 3]</ref> Leto was also revered in [[Sparta]] and the rest of [[Laconia]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+3.11.9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 3.11.9]</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+3.20.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 3.20.5]</ref> Leto also had a sanctuary in [[Mantineia]], [[Arcadia (region)|Arcadia]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+8.9.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 8.9.1]</ref>

=== Aegean Islands ===
Leto was usually not worshipped on her own account, but in conjunction with her children, especially in the island [[Delos]], her chief center of worship and birthplace of her son Apollo as well as his sacred island, where she was represented in temple by a shapeless wooden image,<ref name=":litt">Littleton, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=u27FpnXoyJQC&pg=PA816 816]</ref><ref name=":bell"/> in a Letoum situated in a plain.<ref>[[Strabo]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D2 10.5.2]</ref> Sacrifices to Artemis and Apollo were also made in Leto's name as well.<ref name=":bell"/> [[Poseidon]] agreed with Leto that she would have Delos, while he got to keep the island of [[Kalaureia|Kelauria]].<ref>[[Strabo]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D6%3Asection%3D14 8.6.14]</ref> Leto was also worshipped in the island of [[Rhodes]].<ref>[[Strabo]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D2 14.2.2]</ref><ref>[[Strabo]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D4 14.2.4]</ref> She might have had a cult center in [[Lesbos]] as well.<ref>According to [[Proclus]]' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607190115/http://www.stoa.org/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Stoa:text:2003.01.0004:account=2 summary], in the lost epic [[Aethiopis]] by [[Arctinus of Miletus]], [[Achilles]] travelled to Lesbos to sacrifice to Leto (as well as Apollo and Artemis) and be purified for the murder of [[Thersites]], indicating that perhaps Leto was worshipped there.</ref> Leto was also worshipped in [[Crete]], whether one of "certain Cretan goddesses, or Greek goddesses in their Cretan form, influenced by the Minoan goddess".<ref>D.H.F. Gray, reviewing L.R. Palmer, ''Mycenaeans and Minoans: Aegean Prehistory in the Light of the Linear B Tablets'' in ''The Classical Review'', '''13''', 1963:87–91.</ref> Veneration of a local Leto is attested at [[Phaistos]]<ref>"the citizens of Phaistos on Crete performed sacrifices to Leto the Grafter because she had grafted male organs onto a maiden ([[Antoninus Liberalis]] 17)" notes William F. Hansen, ''Handbook of Classical Mythology'', 2004: "Sex-changers", 285.</ref> (where it is purported that she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis at the islands known today as the [[Paximadia]] (also known as Letoai in ancient Crete) and at Lato, which bore her name.<ref>Noted by R.F. Willetts, "Cretan Eileithyia', ''The Classical Quarterly'', 1958.<!-- a reference from R.F. Willetts, ''Cretan Cults and Festivals'', 1962 would help here-->.</ref> As ''Leto Phytia'' she was a mother-deity.

=== Epithets ===
[[Pindar]] calls the goddess ''Leto Chryselakatos'',<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Sixth Nemean Ode'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DN.%3Apoem%3D6 36]</ref> an [[epithet]] that was attached to her daughter Artemis as early as [[Homer]].<ref>O. Brendel, ''Römische Mitt.'' '''51''' (1936), p 60ff.</ref> "The conception of a goddess enthroned like a queen and equipped with a [[spindle (textiles)|spindle]] seems to have originated in Asiatic worship of the [[Magna Mater|Great Mother]]", O. Brendel notes, but a lucky survival of an inscribed inventory of her temple on Delos, where she was the central figures of the Delian trinity, records her [[cult image]] as sitting on a wooden throne, clothed in a linen ''[[Chiton (costume)|chiton]]'' and a linen ''[[himation]]''.<ref>O. Brendel, noting Pierre Roussel, ''Délos, colonie athénienne'' (Paris: Boccard) 1916, p 221, in "The Corbridge Lanx" ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' '''31''' (1941), pp. 100–127) p 113ff; the article is a discussion of the seated female figure he identifies as Leto on the Roman silver tray (''lanx'') at [[Alnwick Castle]].</ref>

== Art ==
[[File:Jan Brueghel - Latona en de Lycische boeren.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|''Latona and the Lycian Peasants'', ca. 1605, by [[Jan Brueghel the Elder]].]]
[[File:Leto (Latona). - Engravings on Wood.jpg|thumb|left|Python pursuing Leto and her children, engravings on wood from a vase]]

In ancient Greek and Roman art, Leto was a common subject in vase painting, but she was hard to distinguish due to her not having any special or unique attributes.<ref name=":litt"/> Her capture by [[Tityos|Tityus]] and subsequent rescue by Artemis and  Apollo was also a very popular subject.<ref name=":litt"/> Ancient representations of Leto holding her infant children however are rare.{{sfn|Palagia|1980|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hMMeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA37 37]}} A lost vase, now known only through a drawing of [[Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein|Wilhelm Tischbein]] in his ''Collection of Engravings'' (published in 1795, volume III), shows Leto running away from the enormous Python in terror while holding her two young children in her arms; this is the only known classical representation of Leto escaping Python.{{sfn|Palagia|1980|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hMMeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA37 37]}}

The myth of Leto transforming the mortals into frogs of the pond became very popular in post-antiquity art. This scene, usually called '''''Latona and the Lycian Peasants''''' or '''''Latona and the Frogs''''', was popular in [[Northern Mannerist]] art,<ref>Bull, Malcolm, ''The Mirror of the Gods, How Renaissance Artists Rediscovered the Pagan Gods'', pp. 266-268, Oxford UP, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-521923-6}}</ref> allowing a combination of mythology with [[landscape painting]] and peasant scenes, thus combining [[history painting]] and [[genre painting]]. It is represented in the central fountain, the ''Bassin de Latone'', in the [[Gardens of Versailles|garden terrace]] of the [[Palace of Versailles]]. In later art, this scene with the Lycian frogs is exclusively the one Leto appeared in.<ref name=":litt"/>

In [[Crete]], at the city of [[Dreros]], [[Spyridon Marinatos]] uncovered an eighth-century post-[[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] hearth house temple in which there were found three unique figures of Apollo, Artemis and Leto made of brass sheeting hammered over a shaped core (''sphyrelata'').<ref>Marinatos' publications on Dreros are listed by Burkert 1985, sect. I.4 note 16 (p.365); John Boardman, ''Annual of the British School at Athens'' '''62''' (1967) p. 61; Theodora Hadzisteliou Price, "Double and Multiple Representations in Greek Art and Religious Thought" ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' '''91''' (1971:pp. 48–69), plate III.5a-b.</ref> [[Walter Burkert]] notes that in [[Phaistos]] she appears in connection with an initiation cult.<ref>Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sxurBtx6shoC&pg=PA172 172]</ref>

== Legacy ==
The [[asteroid]] [[68 Leto]] and the [[minor planet]] [[639 Latona]] were both named after this Greek goddess.

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="160" caption="Leto in art">
File:Chiemsee Brunnen auf Herrenchiemsee 4.JPG|Leto in the Fountain on Herreninsel, Chiemsee.
File:Leto, torso of cult statue, ivory, gold, 550 BC, AM Delphi, 060073.jpg|Cult statue of Leto at Delphi.
File:Roma Museo Etrusco Statua Latona.jpg|Etruscan statue of Leto holding the infant Apollo.
File:Les metamorphoses d'Ovide - en latin et en françois (1767) (14579684100).jpg|Leto and the Lycian peasants.
File:Othea's Epistle (Queen's Manuscript) 20.jpg|''Othea's Epistle'''s depiction of the Lycian frogs.
File:Bassin Latone Jardin Château Versailles - Versailles (FR78) - 2021-12-19 - 6.jpg|Fountain of Latona, [[Versailles]].
File:Naissance de Diane et d'Apollon sous le palmier de l'île de Délos.jpg|Latona with the infants Apollo and Diana in Delos.
File:Terracotta amphora (jar) MET DP115351.jpg|Leto on an ancient vase between Apollo and Hermes.
File:Apollonian Triad, Leto, bronze statue, 750 BC, AMH 247, 145333.jpg|Bronze statuette of Leto.
File:Apollo Tityos Met 08.258.21.jpg|Apollo holding his bow, Leto and Tityos.
File:Brauron - Votive Relief2.jpg|Leto seated, relief from [[Brauron]].
</gallery>

== Genealogy ==
{{chart top|Leto's family tree<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+132 132–138], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337–411], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+453 453–520], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+901 901–906, 915–920]; Caldwell, pp. 8–11, tables 11–14.</ref>|collapsed=no}}
{{chart/start}}
{{chart|}}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|PON|URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia]]|PON=[[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]}}
{{chart|,|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{chart|!|OCE |y|TET | | | |HYP |y|THE | | | | |CRI |y|EUR|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|HYP=[[Hyperion (mythology)|Hyperion]]|THE=[[Theia]]|CRI=[[Crius]]|EUR=[[Eurybia (mythology)|Eurybia]]}}
{{chart|!| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|^|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart|!|RIV | |OCE | |HEL | |SEL | |EOS | |AST | |PAL |F|PER |RIV=<small>The&nbsp;[[River gods (Greek mythology)|Rivers]]</small>|OCE=<small>The [[Oceanids]]</small>|HEL=[[Helios]]|SEL=[[Selene]]&nbsp;<ref>Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+371 371–374], in the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' (4), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 99–100], Selene is instead made the daughter of Pallas the son of Megamedes.</ref>|EOS=[[Eos]]|AST=[[Astraeus]]|PAL=[[Pallas (Titan)|Pallas]]|PER=[[Perses (Titan)|Perses]]}}
{{chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |:}}
{{chart|)|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |:}}
{{chart|!| | | | |CRO |y|RHE | | | | | | | |COE |y|PHO | | |:|COE=[[Coeus]]|PHO=[[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]|CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{chart|!| |,|-|v|-|v|-|+|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |:}}
{{chart|!|HES |!|HER |!|POS | |ZEU |~|y|~|LET | |AST |~|y|J|HES=[[Hestia]]|HER=[[Hera]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|LET='''LETO'''|AST=[[Asteria]]}}
{{chart|!| | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | |!}}
{{chart|!| | |DEM | |HAD | | | | |APO | |ART | | | | | |HEC|DEM=[[Demeter]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|APO=[[Apollo]]|ART=[[Artemis]]|HEC=[[Hecate]]}}
{{chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|`|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart| | | | |IAP |y|CLY | | | | | |THE |~|y|~|ZEU |~|y|~|MNE |IAP=[[Iapetus]]|CLY=[[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]]<ref>One of the [[Oceanid]]s, the daughters of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], see [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351].</ref>|THE=[[Themis]]|ZEU=(Zeus)|MNE=[[Mnemosyne]]}}
{{chart| |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | |!| | | | | |!}}
{{chart|ATL | |MEN | |PRO | |EPI | | | | |HOR | | | |MUS |ATL=[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]&nbsp;<ref>According to [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 113d–114a], Atlas was the son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal [[Cleito]].</ref>|MEN=[[Menoetius (Greek mythology)|Menoetius]]|PRO=[[Prometheus]]&nbsp;<ref>In [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 18, 211, 873 (Sommerstein, pp. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.445.xml 444–445 n. 2], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.467.xml 446–447 n. 24], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.539.xml 538–539 n. 113]) Prometheus is made to be the son of [[Themis]].</ref>|EPI=[[Epimetheus]]|HOR=<small>The [[Horae]]</small>|MUS=<small>The [[Muses]]</small>}}
{{chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Myths|Religion}}
* [[Alcmene]]
* [[Maia]]
* [[Latona Fountain]]
* [[Isis]]

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==

=== Primary Sources ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''On Animals'', Volume I: Books 1-5. Translated by A. F. Scholfield. [[Loeb Classical Library]] 446. Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]], 1958.
* [[Aeschylus]], ''Persians. Seven against Thebes. Suppliants. Prometheus Bound.'' Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 145. Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99627-4}}. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL145/2009/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Oresteia|The Eumenides]]'' in ''Aeschylus, with an English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph.D. in two volumes'', Vol 2, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1926, [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0085.tlg007.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* {{cite book | last = Celoria | first = Francis | title =The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary | publisher =[[Routledge]] | date = 1992 | isbn = 0-415-06896-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cHt0DwAAQBAJ}}
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library'', Ed. & Trans. by Sir James George Frazer, Loeb Classical Library, No. 121–122, 2 vols. (London: W. Heinemann, 1921). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Callimachus]]. ''Hymns'', translated by Alexander William Mair (1875–1928). London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1921. [https://topostext.org/work/120 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Diodorus Siculus]], ''Library of History, Volume III: Books 4.59-8'', translated by [[Charles Henry Oldfather|C. H. Oldfather]], [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 340. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1939. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99375-4}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL340/1939/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press]. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html Online version by Bill Thayer].
* [[Herodotus]], [[The Histories of Herodotus|''Histories'']], [[A. D. Godley]] (translator), Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]], 1920; {{ISBN|0674991338}}. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+1.1.0 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* [[Homer]], [[Iliad|''The Iliad'']] with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/207 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* ''The [[Homeric Hymns]] and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.
* ''Hymn to Apollo'' (3), in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English  Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* ''Hymn to Hermes'' (4), in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Libanius]], ''Libanius's Progymnasmata: Model Exercises in Greek Prose Composition and Rhetoric. With a translation and notes by Craig A. Gibson''. Society of Biblical Literature, [[Atalanta]]. 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-58983-360-9}}.
* [[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]''; translated by Fowler, H W and F G. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1905.
* [[Maurus Servius Honoratus]], ''In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii;'' recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0053 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Ovid's Fasti]]: With an English translation by Sir James George Frazer'', London: W. Heinemann LTD; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959. [https://archive.org/stream/ovidsfasti00oviduoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [https://topostext.org/work/141 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Plato]], ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' in ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg005.perseus-eng1:383a Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'' in ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 9 translated by W.R.M. Lamb, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180%3Atext%3DCriti.%3Asection%3D106a Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Plutarch]]. ''Plutarch's Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin''. Cambridge, MA. [[Harvard University Press]]. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1917. 5. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0054%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online text available at Perseus.tufts]
* [[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* [[Tacitus]], ''Complete Works of Tacitus. Tacitus.'' Alfred John Church. William Jackson Brodribb. Sara Bryant. edited for Perseus. New York. : Random House, Inc. Random House, Inc. reprinted 1942. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0078%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D1 Online text available at Perseus.tufts].
* [[Theocritus]] in ''Greek Bucolic Poets. Edited and translated by Neil Hopkinson.'' [[Loeb Classical Library]] 28. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912. [https://www.theoi.com/Text/TheocritusIdylls1.html Online text available at theoi.com].
* [[Tibullus]] and [[Sulpicia]] (55 BC–19 BC) - ''The Poems'', translated by Anthony S. Kline, 2001, all rights reserved.
* [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus|Valerius Flaccus]], ''Argonautica'' translated by Mozley, J H. Loeb Classical Library Volume 286. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus1.html Online version at Theoi.com.]
* {{cite book | title = Some Cults of Greek Goddesses and Female Daemons of Oriental Origin | first = David R. | last = West | date = 1995 | publisher = Butzon & Bercker | isbn = 9783766698438 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sZ9tAAAAMAAJ}}
{{refend}}

=== Secondary Sources ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* [[Apostolos Athanassakis|Athanassakis, Apostolos N.]], and Benjamin M. Wolkow, ''The Orphic Hymns'', Johns Hopkins University Press; owlerirst Printing edition (May 29, 2013). {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0882-8}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTo3r8IHy0wC Google Books].
* Barker, Andrew, ''Greek musical writings: I, The Musician and his Art'', [[Cambridge University Press]], 1984, {{ISBN|0-521-23593-6}}.
* Bell, Robert E., ''Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary'', [[ABC-CLIO]] 1991, {{ISBN|0-87436-581-3}}. [https://archive.org/details/womenofclassical00bell/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive.]
* Caldwell, Richard, ''Hesiod's Theogony'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (June 1, 1987). {{ISBN|978-0-941051-00-2}}.
* Campbell, David A., ''Greek Lyric, Volume IV: Bacchylides, Corinna'',  [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 461. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99508-6}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL461/1992/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* {{cite book | title = Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins | publisher = [[University of California Press]] | date = 1959 | isbn = 9780520040915 | first1 = Joseph Eddy | last1 = Fontenrose | author1-link = Joseph Fontenrose}}
* [[Timothy Gantz|Gantz, Timothy]], ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. {{ISBN|978-0-631-20102-1}}.
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* Johnston, Sarah I., "20. Hecate, Leto's Daughter, in OF 317", in ''Tracing Orpheus: Studies of Orphic Fragments'', edited by de Jáuregui, Miguel Herrero, et al. De Gruyter, 2012. {{ISBN|978-3-110-26053-3}}. [https://www-degruyter-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/document/doi/10.1515/9783110260533.123/html Online version at De Gruyter]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=D4tDMNaqKfIC Google Books].
* [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi, Karl]] (1951), ''The Gods of the Greeks'',  Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.
* [[Otto Kern|Kern, Otto]]. ''Orphicorum Fragmenta'', Berlin, 1922. [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
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* {{cite book | first1 = Henry George | last1 = Liddell | first2 = Robert | last2 = Scott | title = [[A Greek-English Lexicon]], revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie | location = Oxford | publisher = [[Clarendon Press]] | date = 1940 | author1-link = Henry Liddell | author2-link = Robert Scott (philologist)}} [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057 Online version at Perseus.tufts project.]
* Málama, Venetia; Miza, Maria; Athanassiou, Fani; Sarantidou, Maria; Papasotiriou, Alexios, ''The Restoration and the Anastylosis of the Macedonian tomb of Macridy Bey near [[Thessaloniki]]'', Published in Opus 1/2017. Quaderno di storia architettura restauro disegno, published in OPUS, {{ISBN|978-88-492-4271-3}}.
* March, Jennifer R., ''Dictionary of Classical Mythology''. Illustrations by Neil Barrett, Cassel & Co., 1998. {{ISBN|978-1-78297-635-6}}.
* {{cite book | title = [[Clearchus of Soli]]: Text, Translation, and Discussion | first1 = Robert | last1 = Mayhew | first2 = David C. | last2 = Mirhady | first3 = Tiziano | last3 = Dorandi | first4 =  Stephen | last4 = White | date = 2022 | publisher = [[Routledge]] | isbn = 978-0-367-70681-4 | location = New York City, New York}}
* Meisner, Dwayne A., ''Orphic Tradition and the Birth of the Gods'', [[Oxford University Press]], 2018. {{ISBN|978-0-19-066352-0}}.
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* Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo, ''Hellenistic Sculpture II: The Styles of ca. 200-100 B.C.'', University of Wisconsin Press, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-299-15470-7}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6Jj6rcIup4C Google Books].
* {{cite book | title = The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece | first1 = Marguerite | last1 = Rigoglioso | date = 2009 | publisher = [[Palgrave Macmillan]]| isbn = 978-1-349-37848-7}}
* {{cite book |first1= Ian|last1= Rutherford|title = [[Pindar]]'s Paeans: A Reading of the Fragments with a Survey of the Genre | date = 2001| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn = 0-19-814381-8|location = [[New York City|New York]]}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Shelmerdine | first1 = Susan | date = 1995 | title = The [[Homeric Hymns]] | publisher = Focus Publishing | isbn = 978-1-58510-477-2}}
* Sommerstein, Alan H., ''Aeschylus: Fragments,'' Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 505. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99629-8}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL505/2009/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]], ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0104 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Trevelyan, R. C., ''A Translation Of The Idylls Of Theocritus'', Cambridge University Press 1947. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.86553/page/n5 Internet Archive].
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). {{ISBN|069022608X}}.
* {{cite book | title = Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible | first1 = Karel | last1 = van der Toorn | first2 = Bob | last2 = Becking | first3 = Pieter Willem | last3 = van der Horst | publisher = Brill | date = 1999 | isbn =  90-04-11119-0}}
* [[Martin Litchfield West|West, M. L.]] (1983), ''The Orphic Poems'', [[Clarendon Press]] Oxford, 1983. {{ISBN|978-0-19-814854-8}}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Λητώ}}
{{Commons category|Leto}}
* [https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisLeto.html LETO on The Theoi Project]
* [https://mythopedia.com/topics/leto LETO from Mythopedia]
* [http://www.maicar.com/GML/Leto.html LETO on Greek Mythology Link]
* [https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Zeus's_Lovers/Leto/leto.html LETO from greekmythology.com]
* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/gallery/letoon Pictures of the sanctuary for Leto at Letoum]

{{Greek religion|state=collapsed}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Greek goddesses]]
[[Category:Mother goddesses]]
[[Category:Titans (mythology)]]
[[Category:Divine women of Zeus]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Deities in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Deeds of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]
[[Category:Wolf deities]]
[[Category:Deeds of Apollo]]
[[Category:Deeds of Artemis]]
[[Category:Childhood goddesses]]
[[Category:Leto| ]]
[[Category:Anatolian deities]]
[[Category:Women of the Trojan war]]
[[Category:Mothers of the twelve Olympians]]
[[Category:Lycia]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Kourotrophoi]]
[[Category:Deeds of Ares]]
[[Category:Olympian deities]]
[[Category:Greek mythology of Anatolia]]
[[Category:Shapeshifters in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Kos]]
[[Category:Delian mythology]]