LETO

Form: Lat. Latona.

Daughter of the Titan Coeus and Phoebe. According to Hesiod [Theog. 406], she was the "dark-robed and ever mild and gentle" wife of Zeus, before he was wedded to Hera, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis. According to a later legend she is only the mistress of Zeus after he is wedded to Hera; when about to give birth to her children, she is pursued from land to land till at last she finds rest on the desolate island of Ortygia (Delos), which, up to that time, had floated on the sea, but was thereafter fixed firmly on four pillars of adamant. As mother of Apollo and Artemis, she dwells in Olympus. Her devoted children exact vengeance for her on Niobe (q.v.). The giant Tityus, for attempting to offer violence to her, is punished for evermore in the world below. She is for the most part worshipped in conjunction with Apollo and Artemis.