Mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus. Jealous Hera made it hard for her to find anywhere to give birth, until the floating island of Delos took her in.
Roman name: Latona
From Delos. Today: Delos, Greece (now uninhabited).
Strength 4/10 · Wisdom 7/10 · Courage 7/10 · Divinity 9/10 · Fame 6/10
The story
A gentle Titaness loved by Zeus. Hera forbade every land to take her in to give birth, until the small floating island of Delos agreed. There, holding a palm tree, she gave birth to Artemis and Apollo.
How it ends
When Niobe boasted that she had more children than Leto, Leto’s twins killed Niobe’s children with their arrows.
Still with us today
The Romans called her Latona. The small island of Delos became one of the holiest places in Greece because of her.
Family
Appears in
Read about them in the Library
- Theogony and Works and Days 6: The wives and children of Zeus
- Homeric Hymns 2: Hymn to Apollo
- Metamorphoses 6: Arachne, Niobe and Philomela
Ancient sources
- Hesiod, Theogony
- The Homeric Hymns