How long was leto in labor with apollo

Leto roamed far and wide in her search for a refuge where she might give birth, but the many places she approached were afraid to receive her. Finally the island of Delos accepted her, but only after she assured the island which is personified in the Hymn with a great oath that a sacred precinct of Apollo would be built there and that it would become a place of prosperity, wealth, and prestige. When Leto had endured nine days and nights of labor, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, was summoned by Iris from Olympus to help in the delivery.

Goddesses present at the birth attended to the newborn child, and as soon as Apollo had been nursed on nectar and ambrosia, he miraculously became a mighty god who declared that the curved bow and the lyre were his and that he would prophesy to mortals the unerring will of Zeus.

Leto was delighted with her son, and all of Delos blossomed with joy. Originally at this site there had probably been an oracle of the great mother-goddess Gaia, and the slaying of the dragon may symbolize conquest by the Hellenes and their god Apollo, who thus becomes yet another to add to our list of dragon slayers. After Apollo had established his sanctuary, he needed to recruit attendants. He spotted a ship sailing from Crete and he sprang aboard in the form of a dolphin. The crew was awed into submission and followed a course that led the ship to Crisa.

Yet the sacred area and the temple built on the lower slopes of Mt. Parnassus are particulary awe-inspiring, and the many dedications made to the god remind us of how Greek religion was responsible for the development of great and universal literature, poetry, drama, sculpture, and architecture.

The Pythian games, celebrated every four years, included both physical and intellectual competitions and the worship of the god. The Oracle and Pythia at Delphi. The Panhellenic sanctuary at Delphi was the most important oracle in the Greek world.

People in general and representatives of states in particular came from all over the Greek world and beyond to ask Apollo questions of every sort. The Pythia, the prophetess of Apollo, uttered the responses of the god as she sat on a tripod. Her answers came in incoherent ravings, which were transcribed by a nearby priest into intelligible prose or verse. The Cumaean Sibyl. The sibyls at Cumae in Italy were famous.

We learn about this Sibyl from Ovid. Apollo offered her anything that she wished, if only she would yield to him. Apollo killed the sons of Niobe while Artemis slew the girls. According to some version of the story, Apollo and Artemis each left one child alive so Niobe had no more claim to superiority.

When Amphion saw his dead children he swore vengeance on Leto. Zeus struck the king down with a thunderbolt to protect the mother of his children from retribution. Leto, however, still had some measure of pity for Niobe. She transformed the queen into a mountain to end her grief. In both kindness and anger, Leto was a constant companion of her son and daughter.

In both art and literature, she is almost always depicted beside one or both of them. Leto was fond of music, of which her son was the patron god. Stories that mentioned Leto often showed her in the forest with her children as well as at Olympus.

The mother goddess, acting in a somewhat unexpected manner, often joined her daughter during hunts. One such story includes the detail of how Leto behaved when the hunt was over. As they left the forest, she pulled her veil back over her hair and straightened her clothes. In the forest with her children, Leto acted the part of a nymph who enjoyed dancing and hunting without being concerned about propriety. But back on Mount Olympus she resumed the role of the proper matron and mother.

Leto was a Titaness who was loved by Zeus for her beauty. While he had originally chased after her sister Asteria, he began an affair with Leto when the elder sister escaped his pursuit. Leto finally found refuge on the island of Delos, giving birth to twins who were destined to become great gods of Olympus.

Artemis and Apollo became two of the most revered gods of the Greek pantheon. The twin archers were staunch protectors of their mother, saving her from several attacks by chthonic beings. Leto was a kind and maternal goddess who was known for her mercy. She also had a terrible temper, though, and took sometimes violent revenge on those who insulted her. Rarely seen without one or both of them, the mother of Apollo and Artemis earned her place on Olympus through her devotion to its favorite deities.

My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember too long! I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. The twins killed the giant Tityus because he had attempted to rape Leto. The twins also took vengeance on Niobe, who had seven sons and seven daughters.

Niobe boasted that she had born more and greater children than Leto. Niobe wept uncontrollably until she turned into a stone which still spouts tears. Both Apollo and his sister were excellent archers and the bow and arrow were important symbols for both. Plagues and unexplained deaths were attributed to Apollo or Artemis shooting the victims with arrows the beginning of the Iliad is a good example of this.

The lyre was most associated with Apollo as the god of music, however, it was created by the god Hermes [see Hermes ]. Apollo was unlucky in a number of his love affairs; in fact, he seems never to have been happy in love. He fell in love with Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, king of Troy, and in order to win her consent, he offered her the gift of prophesy.

But after she was given the gift, Cassandra changed her mind and refused his advances. A god cannot take back a gift once it has been given, so Apollo could not prevent Cassandra from correctly predicting the future, so he cursed her so that she would never be believed, despite the fact that she was always correct.

According to another story, while Leto was passing through Lycia, she felt thirsty and tried to drink from a well. The peasants however, stirred up mud and made the water undrinkable for her and her children. In anger for the unfairness towards her children, Leto turned them all into frogs. The central fountain in the terrace garden of Versailles depicts this scene. Other sources say that after many years of wandering and when her children went to their father on Olympus to live as gods, Leto finally settled in Thebes to spend the rest of her life.

There, Niobe, the arrogant queen of the city, once said that she was superior to Leto, because Niobe had given birth to fourteen children, seven male and seven female, instead of two.

Leto and her divine children were so insulted when they found out about this, that Apollo and Artemis took revenge, killing all fourteen of Niobe's children.

When Niobe discovered what had happened, she burst in great grief. Indeed, Zeus turned her into a pillar of stone but people said that when they were passing by this pillar, they could see it weep tears. She was usually honoured and depicted in combination with her children. The origin of her name is not known. Some say that it means "unseen" and this makes a connection to her modesty, as in most Greek vases, she was depicted as a modest young woman lifting her veil to Zeus.

Others suggest that her name derives from "lada", which was the Lycian word for woman. The bottom line however is that Leto was a very decent and respectful figure in Greek mythology and she was actually representing motherhood. Contact us Contact us.

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