Myth of Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis - Greeka.com Discover the myth of Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis Her relationship with Zeus Leto was the daughter of Titans Croesus and Phoebe. She had some supernatural powers herself but only a few, compared to the Olympian Gods. Leto is mostly famous because of her relationship with Zeus, which resulted in giving birth to two divine children, who would later be considered amongst the twelve Olympian gods, Artemis and Apollo. Everything started when Hera found out that Leto was pregnant by her husband, Zeus. Furious and ashamed of this betrayal from Zeus, she cursed Leto not to find a solid ground or island on Earth to give birth to her children. Leto, in labor and great pain, had wandered around all Greece to find a place to give birth but people didn't let her bear her children close to their homes, afraid of Hera's anger. That is when Zeus emerged an island from the sea so that Leto would find a refugee. This island was Delos, which was believed to be a floating island.

One version of the myth says that Delos was uninhabited while another says that at first, the inhabitants of Delos didn't want Leto on their land, until she made them a great gift: she anchored Delos on the bottom of the Aegean Sea with four anchors to give the island stability. Giving birth to two gods Leto found a safe refugee to give birth on Delos, which was surrounded by swans. The delivery of Artemis was painless but the birth of Apollo lasted for nine whole days and nights because Hera had kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, preventing Leto from having an easy and painless labor. It is said that, with the absence of Eileithyia, Artemis was the one to help her mother deliver her twin brother, Apollo. The delivery took place under a palm tree. Indeed, there is a palm tree today on Delos the ancient Greeks planted to commemorate the birth of the god. Homer mentions that all gods and goddess, except for Hera, were present at the delivery of Apollo to establish from the first moment the authenticity of a child who was later to become an Olympian god. Therefore, that is how Delos later became the sacred place of Apollo.

Wandering around the world However, this wasn't the end of Leto's woes. She and her children were constantly harassed by earth-born creatures sent by Hera. Tityus, an earth-born giant, tried to abduct Leto but his advances were repelled by Apollo, who slew him with his arrows. Python, a giant serpent guarding the oracle of Delphi , was also slain by Apollo because he had raped Leto while she was still pregnant with the twins. 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. The incident with Niobe 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. She then asked Zeus to show mercy of her and turn her into a stone, so that she wouldn’t hurt. 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. The goddess of motherhood The cult of Leto was wide-spread all over Greece and Asia Minor for being the mother of two Gods. 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. Share it! Artemis • Facts and Information on Greek Goddess Artemis Artemis Greek Goddess of the Hunt, Forests and Hills, the Moon, Archery Artemis is known as the goddess of the hunt and is one of the most respected of all the ancient Greek deities. It is thought that her name, and even the goddess herself, may even be pre-Greek. She was the daughter of Zeus , king of the gods, and the Titaness Leto and she has a twin brother, the god Apollo . Not only was Artemis the goddess of the hunt, she was also known as the goddess of wild animals, wilderness, childbirth and virginity. Also, she was protector of young children and was know to bring and relieve disease in women. In literature and art she was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrow. Artemis was a virgin and drew the attention and interest of many gods and men. However, it was only her hunting companion, Orion, that won her heart.

It is believed that Orion was accidentally killed either by Artemis herself or by Gaia, the primordial goddess of the earth. In one version of the stories of Adonis – who was a late addition to Greek mythology during the Hellenistic period – Artemis sent a wild boar to kill Adonis after he continued to boast that he was a far greater hunter than her. Facts about Artemis Artemis was daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. According to one source, Artemis was born a day before Apollo. She then served as a guardian to him, which provided a context for her desire to protect and nurture. She was primarily a virgin huntress, goddess of wildlife and patroness of hunters. The bear was sacred to her. She guarded her virginity carefully. Actaeon and Orion tried to dishonor or rape her, but anyone who threatened her purity met with a violent end. She was an important goddess in the lives of women, especially when it came to marriage and young creatures. When one of her nymphs was seduced by Zeus, Artemis transformed her into a bear and then killed her. She was sometimes associated with the goddess of the moon.

Artemis acted out in anger whenever her wishes were disobeyed, especially if anyone transgressed against the animals that were sacred to her. She punished Agamemnon, for example, when he killed a stag in her sacred grove. Artemis appealed to Zeus to grant her eternal virginity. Apollo and Artemis teamed up to kill the children of Niobe. Niobe bragged that she had birthed more children than Leto (the mother of Apollo and Artemis). The twins then hunted her children and killed them with their bows and arrows. Artemis was worshipped widely in Greece but only as a secondary deity. A temple built in her honor became one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” At least two festivals were celebrated in her honor of Artemis: Brauronia and the festival of Artemis Orthia. Homer referred to her as a mistress of wild animals. Artemis spent most of her time roaming the forests with her nymphs. She was described as both hunting animals and protecting them. She armed herself with a bow and arrows made by Hephaestus and Cyclops. In art, Artemis is often accompanied by a stag or hunting dog.

She is the protector of chastity and a nurturer of the young. Link/cite this page If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. <a href="">Artemis: - Greek Gods & Goddesses, September 19, 2014 Link will appear as Artemis: - Greek Gods & Goddesses, September 19, 2014 Artemis, Greek Goddess of the Hunt, Forests and Hills, the Moon, Archery ARTEMIS FACTS Artemis Artemis See More Artemis Pictures > Artemis was the goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the moon, and the natural environment. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto , twin sister of Apollo . She was born on the island of Ortygia (Delos), where Leto had found shelter after being hunted by the lawful wife of Zeus , Hera . As soon as Artemis was born, she helped her mother give birth to her twin brother, thereby becoming the protector of childbirth and labour.

She asked her father to grant her eternal chastity and virginity, and never gave in to any potential lovers; devoted to hunting and nature, she rejected marriage and love. She was the protector of nature and the hunt; both wild and tame animals were under her protection. She also protected the agriculture and animal herding. Artemis appeared in a number of myths . In the myth of Actaeon , he was a hunting companion of Artemis ; at some point, he saw the goddess naked bathing in a spring and tried to rape her. As a punishment, Artemis transformed him into a stag and his hounds killed him. In the myth of Orion which has various versions, Orion was also a hunting companion of Artemis and the only person to have won her heart. However, he was accidentally killed either by the goddess or by a scorpion which was sent by Gaea . In another myth, Callisto was one of the followers of Artemis and thus she had remained a virgin. Zeus , however, changing his form to resemble Artemis , managed to seduce and rape her, impregnating her. Callisto gave birth to Arcas, but later, she was transformed into a bear either by Hera or Artemis .

Arcas almost killed his mother, but Zeus stopped him and placed Callisto in the heavens as a constellation. According to other sources, both Callisto and Arcas were turned into the Ursa Minor and the Ursa Major constellations. Artemis Is also called Diana, Diana. Artemis, Greek Hunter Goddess - Windows to the Universe Marble statue of the Ephesian Artemis, Turkey. (125-175 A.D.) Click on image for full size Image courtesy of Corel Corporation. Artemis In Greek mythology, Artemis was born with her twin brother Apollo in the island of Delos. Their parents were Zeus and Leto. Artemis was the goddess of woodland and the personification of the Moon. She was also known as the goddess of the hunt. She was depicted as a eternally young and skilled huntress. She was always accompanied by a group of her attendants, the beautiful virgins the Amazons, who were warriors and huntresses like her. Artemis was the symbol of virginity. She punished those who would violate her virginity or that of her attendants. Artemis and her brother Apollo had vindictive tempers.

According to a Greek legend, they killed most of the children of Niobe, who had insulted her mother Leto comparing favorably her children with the twins Artemis and Apollo. In another occasion, furthermore, they were said to have killed Tityius for attempting to rape their mother Leto. Romans identified Artemis with their goddess Diana . Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store! Our online store includes issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist , full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, ranging from seismology , rocks and minerals , oceanography , and Earth system science to astronomy ! Windows to the Universe Community News Greek Stories about Apollo-The Birth of the Twins Apollo and Artemis The Birth of the Twins Apollo and Artemis The Birth of the Twins Apollo and Artemis Apollo and Artemis were two twins born by the king of the gods Zeus and Leto, a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe . Leto was a very gracious and loveable deity but was hated by Hera , the wife of Zeus, for having seduced her husband. So when Leto became pregnant and Hera found out, she explicitly forbade any place under the sun to offer shelter to the sinful woman.

She even held her daughter Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, firmly in her arms to prevent her from supporting Leto on her labor. Zeus felt sorrow for Leto and transformed her into a quail (ortyx) in order to give birth to their children. However, there seemed to be no place all over Greece willing to offer a shelter to Leto, so she was wandering around desperately and aimlessly... Finally, Leto discovered a tiny cycladic island close to Mykonos named "Asteria" (or Ortygia, deriving from Leto's transformation into a quail). This island was beaten by the waves and blown by the wind and didnât even have a fixed position in the sea, yet it was willing to accept the woman. When Leto settled on the island, the island became firm and its name was changed into " Delos "- "the unconcealed one". For nine days and nine nights Leto was suffering from strong pains, until on the tenth day, Leto went close to a small lake, leaned against a palm tree, unfastened her belt and gave birth to Artemis , the Greek goddess of the hunt.

Artemis then acted as a midwife to her mother to bring her brother Apollo to the world. For this reason, she was declared as the new goddess of the childbirth, taking the place of Heraâs daughter Eilithyia . Search Artemis | Greek Mythology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Weapons Silver Bow and Arrows Artemis (Ancient Greek: Ἄρτεμις) was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals". The Arcadians believed she was the daughter of Demeter . In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto , and the twin sister of Apollo . She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often depicted as a huntress carrying a Bow & Arrows .

The deer, wolves , and the cypress were sacred to her. In later Hellenistic times she also assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth. Ancient Greek writers linked Artemis (Doric Artamis) by way of folk etymology to artemes (ἀρτεμής) "safe" or artamos (ἄρταμος) "butcher". However, the name Artemis (variants Arktemis, Arktemisa) is most likely related to Greek árktos "bear" (from PIE *h₂ŕ̥tḱos), supported by the bear cult that the goddess had in Attica (Brauronia) and the Neolithic remains at the Arkoudiotissa Cave, as well as the story about Callisto, which was originally about Artemis (Arcadian epithet kallisto). This cult was a survival of very old totemic and shamanistic rituals and formed part of a larger bear cult found further afield in other Indo-European cultures (e.g., Gaulish Artio).

It is believed that a precursor of Artemis was worshiped in Minoan Crete as the goddess of mountains and hunting, Britomartis. While connection with Anatolian names has been suggested, the earliest attested forms of the name Artemis are the Mycenaean Greek a-te-mi-to and a-ti-mi-te, written in Linear B at Pylos. Artemis was venerated in Lydia as Artimus. Contents [ show ] Birth Various conflicting accounts are given in Classical Greek mythology of the birth of Artemis and her twin brother, Apollo. All accounts agree, however, that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and that she was the twin sister of Apollo . An account by Callimachus has it that Hera forbade Leto to give birth on either terra firma (the mainland) or on an island. Hera was angry with Zeus , her husband, because he had impregnated Leto. But the island of Delos (or Ortygia in the Homeric Hymn to Artemis) disobeyed Hera, and Leto gave birth there. Once, Artemis was tricked into having a child. Artemis had offended Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.

She told Athena and Hera that they were not true virgin goddess. After all, Athena had children, and Hera was the goddess of marriage. She then told Aphrodite that love was worthless, since you would most likely have a broken heart in the end. She showed the example of Orpheus and Eurydice. They still had broken hearts. Of course, these goddess did not take offense easily. They plotted to get revenge. With the help of Dionysus, they made every young man look like a golden stag. But really, they were the men of Athens. Soon she was in childbirth, which was very painful. Hera (who was also the goddess of childbirth), made sure that the birth would not come easily for Artemis. People are not sure who her daughter was. Some say it is Haley's comet. Others say that she is the shadows of night. Most most people believe that it was moon that was her daughter, always shining down upon us. In ancient Cretan history Leto was worshiped at Phaistos and in Cretan mythology Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis at the islands known today as the Paximadia. A scholium of Servius on Aeneid iii.

72 accounts for the island's archaic name Ortygia by asserting that Zeus transformed Leto into a quail (ortux) in order to prevent Hera from finding out his infidelity, and Kenneth McLeish suggested further that in quail form Leto would have given birth with as few birth-pains as a mother quail suffers when it lays an egg. The myths also differ as to whether Artemis was born first, or Apollo. Most stories depict Artemis as born first, becoming her mother's mid-wife upon the birth of her brother Apollo. Artemis caused no pain to Leto, earning her the title of goddess of childbirth. After she was born she helped Leto give birth to Apollo her twin brother. Childhood The childhood of Artemis is not fully related in any surviving myth. The Iliad reduced the figure of the dread goddess to that of a girl, who, having been thrashed by Hera , climbs weeping into the lap of Zeus.

A poem of Callimachus to the goddess "who amuses herself on mountains with archery" imagines some charming vignettes: according to Callimachus, Artemis, at three years old, while sitting on the knee of her father, Zeus , asked him to grant her six wishes: to remain always a virgin; to have many names to set her apart from her brother Apollo ; to be the Phaesporia or Light Bringer; to have a bow and arrow and a knee-length tunic so that she could hunt; to have sixty "daughters of Okeanos", all nine years of age, to be her choir; and for twenty Amnisides Nymphs as handmaidens to watch her dogs and bow while she rested. She wished for no city dedicated to her, but to rule the mountains, and for the ability to help women in the pains of childbirth. Artemis believed that she had been chosen by the Fates to be a midwife, particularly since she had assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. All of her companions remained virgins, and Artemis closely guarded her own chastity.

Her symbols included the silver bow and arrow, the hunting dog, the stag, and the moon. Callimachus tells how Artemis spent her girlhood seeking out the things that she would need to be a huntress, how she obtained her bow and arrows from the isle of Lipara, where Hephaestus and the Cyclops worked. Okeanus' daughters were filled with fear, but the young Artemis bravely approached and asked for bow and arrows. Callimachus then tells how Artemis visited Pan , the god of the forest, whom gave her seven female dogs and six dogs. She then captured six golden-horned deer to pull her chariot. Artemis practiced with her bow first by shooting at trees and then at wild beasts. Possible Relations & Others As a virgin, Artemis had interested many gods and men. Artemis was friends with the giant Orion, but long after Orion's death humans thought that they could have been something more. This was unlikely true because the first stories of their friendship were things like Orion being a rapist and attempting to take advantage of their friendship and rape Artemis, which in turn led to her killing him.

Others were things like Orion attempting to kill every beast in the world to win her heart, in order to stop him either Artemis killed him without regret (she thought he was crazy and that she would never fall in love no matter what, or Gaia sending Scorpio to kill him. Either way unlike popular belief there was plenty of evidence that they had nothing other than a mere friendship (despite Orion wanting more but he may or may not have acted on it and tried to rape her). In the unlikely case of Artemis being in love with Orion it would have likely ended with with Apollo wanting to make sure Artemis kept her vow and he either sent Scorpio to kill him or tricked Artemis into shooting Orion. Orion was the self-proclaimed best hunter in another version and Hera sent Scorpio to kill him, in this version Zeus put him in the stars as a constellation as an apology to Orion for what his wife did. It was most likely in most case that Zeus was the one who put him in the sky and only the ones where Artemis was in love with him would Artemis have put her in the sky. The whole idea of Artemis loving Orion was started way after the first stories of any possible friendship between the two.

Alpheus , a river god, was in love with Artemis, but he realizes that he can do nothing to win her heart. So he decides to capture her. Artemis, who is with her companions at Letrenoi, goes to Alpheus, but, suspicious of his motives, she covers her face with mud so that the river god does not recognize her. In another story, Alphaeus tries to rape Artemis' attendant Arethusa . Artemis pities Arethusa and saves her by transforming Arethusa into a spring in Artemis' temple, Artemis Alphaea in Letrini, where the goddess and her attendant drink. Bouphagos, the son of the Titan Iapetos, sees Artemis and thinks about raping her. Reading his sinful thoughts, Artemis strikes him at Mount Pholoe. Sipriotes is a boy, who, either because he accidentally sees Artemis bathing or because he attempts to rape her, is turned into a girl by the goddess. Aktaeon Multiple versions Actaeon myth survive, though many are fragmentary.

The details vary but at the core they involve a great hunter, Aktaeon who Artemis turns into a stag for a transgression and who is then killed by hunting dogs. Usually the dogs are his own, whom no longer recognize their master. Sometimes they are Artemis' hounds. According to the standard modern text on the work, Lamar Ronald Lacey's The Myth of Aktaion: Literary and Icongraphic Studies, the most likely original version of the myth is that Aktaeon was the hunting companion of the goddess who, seeing her stark naked in her sacred spring, attempts to force himself on her. For this hubris he is turned into a stag and devoured by his own hounds. However, in some surviving versions Aktaeon is a stranger who happens upon her. Different tellings also diverge in the hunter's transgression, which is sometimes merely seeing the virgin goddess naked, sometimes boasting he is a better hunter than she, or even merely being a rival of Zeus for the affections of Semele .

Adonis In some versions of the story of Adonis , who was a late addition to Greek mythology during the Hellenistic period, Artemis sent a wild boar to kill Adonis as punishment for his hubristic boast that he was a better hunter than she. In other versions, Artemis killed Adonis for revenge. In later myths, Adonis had been related as a favorite of Aphrodite , and Aphrodite was responsible for the death of Hippolytus , who had been a favorite of Artemis. Therefore, Artemis killed Adonis to avenge Hippolytus's death. In yet another version, Adonis was not killed by Artemis, but by Ares , as punishment out of jealousy. Orion Orion was Artemis' hunting companion. In some versions, he is killed by Artemis, while in others he is killed by a scorpion sent by Gaia . In some versions, Orion tries to seduce Opis , one of her followers, and she killed him. In a version by Aratus , Orion took hold of Artemis's robe and she killed him in self-defense. In yet another version, Apollo sends the scorpion.

According to Hyginus , Artemis once loved Orion (in spite of the late source, this version appears to be a rare remnant of her as the pre-Olympian goddess, who took consorts, as Eos did), but was tricked into killing him by her brother Apollo, who was "protective" of his sister's maidenhood. Artemis was friends with the giant Orion, but long after Orion's death humans thought that they could have been something more. This was unlikely true because the first stories of their friendship were things like Orion being a rapist and attempting to take advantage of their friendship and rape Artemis, which in turn led to her killing him. Others were things like Orion attempting to kill every beast in the world to win her heart, in order to stop him either Artemis killed him without regret (she thought he was crazy and that she would never fall in love no matter what, or Gaia sending Scorpio to kill him. Either way unlike popular belief there was plenty of evidence that they had nothing other than a mere friendship (despite Orion wanting more but he may or may not have acted on it and tried to rape her).

In the unlikely case of Artemis being in love with Orion it would have likely ended with with Apollo wanting to make sure Artemis kept her vow and he either sent Scorpio to kill him or tricked Artemis into shooting Orion. Orion was the self-proclaimed best hunter in another version and Hera sent Scorpio to kill him, in this version Zeus put him in the stars as a constellation as an apology to Orion for what his wife did. It was most likely in most case that Zeus was the one who put him in the sky and only the ones where Artemis was in love with him would Artemis have put her in the sky. The whole idea of Artemis loving Orion was started way after the first stories of any possible friendship between the two The Aloadae These twin sons of Iphidemia and Poseidon , Otos and Ephialtes, grew enormously at a young age. They were aggressive, great hunters, and could not be killed unless they killed each other. The growth of the Aloadae never stopped, and they boasted that as soon as they could reach heaven, they would kidnap Artemis and Hera and take them as wives.

The gods were afraid of them, except for Artemis who captured a fine deer (or in another version of the story, she changed herself into a doe) and jumped out between them. The Aloadae threw their spears and so mistakenly killed each other. Callisto Callisto was the daughter of Lycaon, King of Arcadia and also was one of Artemis' hunting attendants. As a companion of Artemis, she took a vow of chastity. Zeus appeared to her disguised as Artemis, or in some stories Apollo , gained her confidence, then took advantage of her. As a result of this encounter she conceived a son, Arcas. Enraged, Hera or Artemis (some accounts say both) changed her into a bear. Arcas almost killed the bear, but Zeus stopped him just in time. Out of pity, Zeus placed Callisto the bear into the heavens, thus the origin of Callisto the Bear as a constellation. Some stories say that he placed both Arcas and Callisto into the heavens as bears, forming the Ursa Minor and Ursa Major constellations.

Iphigenia and the Taurian Artemis Artemis punished Agamemnon after he killed a sacred stag in a sacred grove and boasted that he was a better hunter than the goddess. When the Greek fleet was preparing at Aulis to depart for Troy to begin the Trojan War , Artemis becalmed the winds. The seer Calchas advised Agamemnon that the only way to appease Artemis was to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia . Artemis then snatched Iphigenia from the altar and substituted a deer. Various myths have been told around what happened after Artemis took her. Either she was brought to Tauros and led the priests there, or became Artemis' immortal companion. Niobe A Queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion , Niobe boasted of her superiority to Leto because while she had fourteen children (Niobids), seven boys and seven girls, Leto had only one of each. When Artemis and Apollo heard this impiety, Apollo killed her sons as they practiced athletics, and Artemis shot her daughters, whom died instantly without a sound.

Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though according to some versions two of the Niobids were spared, one boy and one girl. Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, killed himself. A devastated Niobe and her remaining children were turned to stone by Artemis as they wept. The gods themselves entombed them. Niobe and Amphion boasted they were better than Leto, becuase they had raised fourteen children and Leto had only raised two. Artemis and Apollo, very angered that the two dared to compare their mortal lives to that of a goddess, killed their children. Apollo killed all the male children and Artemis killed all the female children, each with their bow and arrows. Amphion committed suicide and Niobe wept until she was turned into a rock. This myths is said to be the explanation of why rocks "cry". Khione Khione was a princess of Pokis. She was beloved by two gods, Hermes and Apollo, and boasted that she was prettier than Artemis because she made two gods fall in love with her at once. Artemis was furious and killed Khione with her arrow or struck her dumb by shooting off her tongue.

However, some versions of this myth say Apollo and Hermes protected her from Artemis' wrath. Atalanta, Oeneus and the Meleagrids Artemis saved the infant Atalanta from dying of exposure after her father abandoned her. She sent a female bear to suckle the baby, whom was then raised by hunters. But she later sent a bear to hurt Atalanta because people said Atalanta was a better hunter. This is in some stories. Among other adventures, Atalanta participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, which Artemis had sent to destroy Kalydon because King Oeneus had forgotten her at the harvest sacrifices. In the hunt, Atalanta drew the first blood, and was awarded the prize of the skin. She hung it in a sacred grove at Tegea as a dedication to Artemis. Meleager was a hero of Aetolia. King Oeneus had him gather heroes from all over Greece to hunt the Calydonian Boar. After the death of Meleager, Artemis turned his grieving sisters, the Meleagrids into guineafowl that Artemis loved very much.

Aura In Nonnus Dionysiaca, Aura was Greek goddess of breezes and cool air, daughter of Lelantos and Periboia . She was a virgin huntress, just like Artemis and proud of her maidenhood. One day, she claimed that the body of Artemis was too womanly and she doubted her virginity. Artemis asked Nemesis for help to avenge her dignity and caused the rape of Aura by Dionysos . Aura became a mad and dangerous killer. When she bore twin sons, she ate one of them while the other one, Iakhos, was saved by Artemis. Iakhos later became an attendant of Demeter and the leader of Eleusinian Mysteries. Trojan War Artemis may have been represented as a supporter of Troy because her brother Apollo was the patron god of the city and she herself was widely worshiped in western Anatolia in historical times. In the Iliad she came to blows with Hera , when the divine allies of the Greeks and Trojans engaged each other in conflict. Hera struck Artemis on the ears with her own quiver, causing the arrows to fall out.

As Artemis fled crying to Zeus , Leto gathered up the bow and arrows. Artemis played quite a large part in this war. Like her mother and brother, whom was widely worshiped at Troy, Artemis took the side of the Trojans. At the Greek's journey to Troy, Artemis becalmed the sea and stopped the journey until an oracle came and said they could win the goddess' heart by sacrificing Iphigenia , Agamemnon's daughter. Agamemnon once promised the goddess he would sacrifice the dearest thing to him, which was Iphigenia, but broke the promise. Other sources said he boasted about his hunting ability and provoked the goddess' anger. Artemis saved Iphigenia because of her bravery. In some versions of the myth, Artemis made Iphigenia her attendant or turned her into Hekate , goddess of night, witchcraft, and the underworld. Aeneas was helped by Artemis, Leto, and Apollo. Apollo found him wounded by Diomedes and lifted him to heaven. There, the three of them secretly healed him in a great chamber.

Artemis in Art The oldest representations of Artemis in Greek Archaic art portray her as Potnia Theron ("Queen of the Beasts"): a winged goddess holding a stag and leopard in her hands, or sometimes a leopard and a lion. This winged Artemis lingered in ex-votos as Artemis Orthia , with a sanctuary close by Sparta . In Greek classical art she is usually portrayed as a maiden huntress, young, tall and slim, clothed in a girl's short skirt with hunting boots, a quiver, a bow and arrows. Often, she is shown in the shooting pose, and is accompanied by a hunting dog or stag. When portrayed as a goddess of the moon, Artemis wore a long robe and sometimes a veil covered her head. Her darker side is revealed in some vase paintings, where she is shown as the death-bringing goddess whose arrows fell young maidens and women, such as the daughters of Niobe . Only in post-Classical art do we find representations of Artemis-Diana with the crown of the crescent moon, as Luna . In the ancient world, although she was occasionally associated with the moon, she was never portrayed as the moon itself.

Ancient statues of Artemis have been found with crescent moons, but these moons are always Renaissance-era additions. On June 7, 2007, a Roman era bronze sculpture of Artemis and the Stag was sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York state by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for $25.5 million. Attributes Bow and Arrow: According to the Homeric Hymn to Artemis, she had golden bow and arrows, as her epithet was Khryselakatos, "of the Golden Shaft", and Iokheira (Showered by Arrows). The arrows of Artemis could also to bring sudden death and disease to girls and women. Artemis got her bow and arrow for the first time from The Kyklopes, as the one she asked from her father. The bow of Artemis also became the witness of Callisto's oath of her virginity. In later cult, the bow became the symbol of waxing moon. Chariots: Artemis' chariot was made of gold and was pulled by four golden horned deer (Elaphoi Khrysokeroi). The bridles of her chariot were also made of gold.

Spears, Nets and Lyres: Although quite seldom, Artemis is sometimes portrayed with a hunting spear. Her cult in Aetolia, the Artemis Aetolian, showed her with a hunting spear. The description about Artemis' spear can be found in Ovid's Metamorphosis, while Artemis with a fishing spear connected with her cult as a patron goddess of fishing. As a goddess of maiden dances and songs, Artemis is often portrayed with a lyre. Fauna Deer Deer were the only animals held sacred to Artemis herself. On seeing a deer larger than a bull with horns shining, she fell in love with these creatures and held them sacred. Deer were also the first animals she captured. She caught five golden horned deer called Elaphoi Khrysokeroi and harnessed them to her chariot. The third labour of Heracles , commanded by Eurystheus , consisted in catching the Kerynitis Hind alive. Heracles begged Artemis for forgiveness and promised to return it alive. Artemis forgave him but targeted Eurystheus for her wrath. Hunting Dog Artemis got her hunting dogs from Pan in the forest of Arcadia.

Pan gave Artemis two black-and-white dogs, three reddish ones, and one spotted one - these dogs were able to hunt even lions. Pan also gave Artemis seven bitches of the finest Arcadian race. However, Artemis only ever brought seven dogs hunting with her at any one time. Bear The sacrifice of a bear for Artemis started with the Brauron cult. Every year a girl between five and ten years of age was sent to Artemis' temple at Brauron. The Byzantine writer Suidos relayed the legend in Arktos e Brauroniois. A bear was tamed by Artemis and introduced to the people of Athens. They touched it and played with it until one day a group of girls poked the bear until it attacked them. A brother of one of the girls killed the bear, so Artemis sent a plague in revenge. The Athenians consulted an oracle to understand how to end the plague. The oracle suggested that, in payment for the bear's blood, no Athenian virgin should be allowed to marry until she had served Artemis in her temple ('played the bear for the goddess'). Boar The boar is one of the favorite animals of the hunters, and also hard to tame.

In honor of Artemis' skill, they sacrificed it to her. Oineus and Adonis were both killed by Artemis' boar. Guinea Fowl Artemis felt pity for the Meleagrids as they mourned for their lost brother, Meleagor, so she transformed them into Guinea Fowl to be her favorite animals. Citation needed Buzzard Hawk Hawks were the favored birds of many of the gods, Artemis included. Citation needed Flora Palm Tree and Cypress Tree trees were connected with the story of their birth to be her birthplace. Other plants sacred to Artemis are Amaranth and Asphodel . Artemis as The Lady of Ephesus Main Article: Temple of Artemis At Ephesus in Ionia, Turkey, her temple became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was probably the best known center of her worship except for Delos. There the Lady whom the Ionians associated with Artemis through interpretatio graeca was worshiped primarily as a mother goddess, akin to the Phrygian goddess Cybele, in an ancient sanctuary where her cult image depicted the "Lady of Ephesus" adorned with multiple rounded breast like protuberances on her chest.

They have been variously interpreted as multiple accessory breasts, as eggs, grapes, acorns, or even bull testes. Excavation at the site of the Artemision in 1987-88 identified a multitude of tear-shaped amber beads that had adorned the ancient wooden xoanon. In Acts of the Apostles, Ephesian metalsmiths who felt threatened by Saint Paul's preaching of Christianity, jealously rioted in her defense, shouting "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Of the 121 columns of her temple, only one composite, made up of fragments, still stands as a marker of the temple's location. The rest were used for making churches, roads, and forts. Artemis in Astronomy A minor planet, (105) Artemis ; a lunar crater; the Artemis Chasma and the Artemis Corona have all been named for her.

Artemis is the acronym for "Architectures de bolometres pour des Telescopes a grand champ de vue dans le domaine sub-Millimetrique au Sol," a large bolometer camera in the submillimeter range that was installed in 2010 at the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Animals and other things sacred to Artemis The Goose Sacred to Artemis The Guinea-Fowl is sacred to Artemis The Wolf is sacred to Artemis as well as Zeus Greek Mythology: Apollo Greek Mythology God of: Music, poetry, light, prophecy, and medicine Symbols: Lyre, bow and arrow, raven, laurel Parents: Zeus and Leto Abode: Mount Olympus Roman name: Apollo Apollo is the Greek god of music, poetry, light, prophecy, and medicine. He is one of the Twelve Olympian gods who live on Mount Olympus. Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting, is his twin sister. He was the patron god of the city of Delphi. How was Apollo usually pictured? Apollo was pictured as a handsome athletic youth with curly hair.

He usually had a laurel wreath about his head that he wore in honor of his love for Daphne. Sometimes he was shown holding a bow and arrow or a lyre. When traveling, Apollo rode a chariot pulled by swans. What special powers and skills did he have? Like all the Olympian gods, Apollo was an immortal and powerful god. He had many special powers including the ability to see into the future and power over light. He could also heal people or bring illness and disease. When in battle, Apollo was deadly with the bow and arrow. Birth of Apollo When the Titan goddess Leto became pregnant by Zeus, Zeus' wife Hera became very angry. Hera placed a curse on Leto that prevented her from having her babies (she was pregnant with twins) anywhere on the earth. Leto eventually found the secret floating island of Delos, where she had the twins Artemis and Apollo. In order to keep Apollo safe from Hera, he was fed nectar and ambrosia after being born. This helped him to grow to a full-size god in one day. Apollo didn't mess around once he was grown. Only a few days later he fought a dragon named Python at Delphi.

Hera had sent the dragon to hunt down and kill Leto and her children. Apollo slew the dragon with magical arrows he got from Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths. The Oracle of Delphi After defeating the Python, Apollo became the patron god of the city of Delphi. Since he was the god of prophecy, he established the Oracle of Delphi to tell the future to his followers. People in the Greek world would travel long distances to visit Delphi and hear their future from the oracle. The oracle also played a major role in many Greek plays and stories about the Greek gods and heroes. The Trojan War During the Trojan War, Apollo fought on the side of Troy. At one point, he sent diseased arrows into the Greek camp making many of the Greek soldiers sick and weak. Later, after the Greek hero Achilles defeated the Trojan Hector, Apollo guided the arrow that struck Achilles in the heel and killed him. Daphne and the Laurel Tree One day Apollo insulted Eros, the god of love. Eros decided to get his revenge by shooting Apollo with a golden arrow causing him to fall in love with the nymph Daphne.

At the same time, Eros shot Daphne with a lead arrow to cause her to reject Apollo. As Apollo chased Daphne through the woods, she called out to her father to save her. Her father then changed her into a laurel tree. From that day forward, the laurel tree became sacred to Apollo. Interesting Facts About the Greek God Apollo Apollo and Poseidon once attempted to overthrow Zeus. As punishment, they were forced to work for mortals for a time. It was during this time that they built the great walls of Troy. He was the leader of the Muses; goddesses which provided the inspiration for science, art, and literature. When Queen Niobe mocked his mother Leto for only having two children, Apollo and Artemis took their revenge by killing all fourteen of Niobe's children. The god Hermes created the lyre, a stringed musical instrument, for Apollo. Once Apollo and Pan had a music contest. When King Midas said he preferred Pan, Apollo turned his ears into those of a donkey. Take a ten question quiz about this page. For more about Ancient Greece: Overview The God and Goddess | The Story of Apollo And The Lawgiver and the God of Prophecy.

the Far-Shooter, the Greek god also called Phoebus ("bright, shining") by the Romans. Apollo, Greek god of the Sun, was the original overachiever. No wonder he became his father's favorite son! At the tender age of 4 days, showing an incredible talent for archery, Apollo killed the gigantic serpent named Python (in some myths she was a dragon) who had been harassing his mother. The Greek god Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were born to Leto (a Titan goddess who was impregnated by Zeus during one of his numerous affairs. The birth of the twins was not an easy one, for their poor mother Leto had been pursued throughout her pregnancy by a gigantic serpent named Python and had never been allowed a moment’s rest. Going into labor, she finally found a safe, secluded spot where she could deliver. But after the birth of the first twin, Artemis, was born, Leto was too exhausted to continue. Artemis, born just minutes earlier, had to take control of the situation and become Leto’s midwife, helping her mother safely deliver the infant Apollo.

Zeus welcomed the twins by giving them both silver bows and arrows, promising Artemis she would never have to marry unless she wanted to, and giving Apollo a magnificent golden chariot that was pulled by swans. Apollo was destined to make his father proud of him. Following his dramatic debut with the Python, he went on to become, not only an unerring archer, but the best musician (playing a lyre given to him by his half-brother Hermes), poet, philosopher, law maker and creator of legal institutions, a masterful physician, the god of prophecy, and a great scholar who always spoke the truth. Apollo’s skill and determination were evident at a very early age. When he was only 4 days old, he took his bow and arrow and went out in search of the snake that had tormented his mother during her pregnancy. Finding the snake named Python, who was said to measure several acres in length, he wounded her with his first shot. The serpent crawled back to her cave in the city of Delphi, but the infant Apollo followed her and this time succeeded in killing the snake with his second shot.

The citizens of Delphi were glad to be rid of her and were grateful to Apollo - later Delphi was established as the center of Apollo’s worship. As it happened this was not just a regular snake that Apollo had killed - it turns out that it happened to be the famed Oracle of Delphi, the greatest prophet of all time. The Python lived in the cave and could answer any question since she could see anything in the present or the future. When she answered a question, her hiss would be interpreted by the Pythian priestess and the answer relayed to the questioner. The killing of the Python was no small matter. Though very proud of his son’s courage and prowess, Zeus was not pleased that Apollo had killed the serpent. Where could he go now when he needed advice based on her remarkable foresight? “Not a problem”, Apollo assured him, and returned to Delphi where he took over the Temple and persuaded the priestess to teach him the art of prophecy. Zeus, even though he favored this child, felt Apollo should still be punished for killing the Python, just to teach him a lesson. So he exiled him to live and work on earth as a mortal for one year.

His assignment was to assist King Admetus, a kind and pious man who treated Apollo well. At the end of his year of servitude, to repay the king’s kindness, he looked into the future and told the king his fate, warning him that he could reverse it if he could find someone willing to die in his place. Only his wife was willing, and the king regretted allowing her to sacrifice her life for him. Later the hero Heracles (Hercules) was able, however, to restore her life. It was said that Apollo could only speak the truth, telling the future with an accuracy that was as unerring as his marksmanship with his arrows. Arrows featured largely in the story of Apollo’s first love. He caught the somewhat bratty young Eros (Cupid) playing with his silver bow and arrows. He chastised Eros, telling him to put them down that they were not toys. Offended, Eros cheerfully responded “OK, you can have some of mine then - they’re not toys either!” and shot Apollo with one of his golden arrows that had been dipped in an aphrodisiac that made the victim fall madly in love with the first person they saw.

At that very moment, Daphne, the lovely daughter of a river god, came walking by. Apollo was instantly smitten. With a wicked smile on his lips, the mischievous Eros drew a second arrow from his quiver. This one was made of lead and tipped with a potion that would make love seem repulsive. He took aim and shot Daphne with it. Daphne ran home and begged her father to swear an oath that she would never have to marry, so repugnant was the very idea of love. Apollo, his heart inflamed with love, pursued Daphne, calling out his pledges of undying love - but she continued to run from him. Horrified when he finally caught up with her, Daphne cried for Mother Earth to strike her dead or change her form so that she would not be appealing and would not have to endure his love. Instantly she turned into laurel tree. Apollo, heartbroken, tore off a branch of leaves and wove them in his hair, promising Daphne that she would be forever remembered, living on in the wreaths of laurel leaves that would be used to crown kings and victors from that day forward. And so it would be.

Like several of the Greek gods of his generation, Apollo never married, but seduced many young goddesses and mortal women. In the hopes of winning her love, Apollo gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy. She proved an able student and, like him, learned to see the future and always told the truth. Shocked when he suddenly turned amorous, ready to be repaid for his favor, Cassandra rejected him. Angered by this, Apollo gave her another “gift” - this one a curse that even though she always told the truth no one would ever believe her. Among his many lovers, several were males; the most famous, perhaps, being Hyacinthus, whom he accidentally killed in a game of discus. To express his sorrow, Apollo immortalized the dying youth by turning him in the beautiful flower, the hyacinth that greets us each spring. For all his bright and shining qualities, Apollo could also be quite vindictive. Always close to his twin sister, both were known for their skill as archers, their energetic pursuit of their goals, and their swift and merciless punishment of those whose behavior they found insulting or offensive.

When Niobe boasted that she was a better mother than Leto since she had produced six sons and six daughters instead of just a measly set of twins, Apollo and Artemis took offense. Taking their bows and arrows with them, they found Niobe’s children and Apollo killed the sons while Artemis dispatched the daughters. Niobe’s grief was so great that her tears caused the rivers to overflow their banks. Apollo also had a jealous streak. When Artemis fell in love with the hunter Orion, Apollo missed her company and affection. Aware that Orion was swimming in the ocean, Apollo ran to find Artemis and gathering up their bows and arrows, rushed down to the beach with her. Pointing to Orion’s head, barely visible on the horizon, Apollo said, “See that shiny thing bobbing in the waves? Bet you can’t hit that!” Artemis, a fierce competitor and exceptional archer accepted the wager. With her unerring aim, she unknowingly killed the man she loved. She never loved again. For the most part Apollo was rather calm and dispassionate, but there seemed to be three things that could “set him off”. One, as we have seen already, was any offense or insult to his beloved mother.

Another was any violation of the boundaries between the gods and mortal men. Alone among the Olympian deities, Apollo never “sponsored” or helped any of the Greek heroes because he felt that they should know their “place” and stay out of the god’s affairs. And Apollo did not take kindly to any challenges to his position as “the very best” at everything he did. He was, by the way, the champion in many fields - music, science, and prophecy. According to mythology, he was even able to defeat Ares and boxing and Hermes in racing to win those events at the first Olympic games! It is a good thing that Apollo usually won, for he was far from being a “good loser”. His opponents were often punished for winning. He literally took the skin off a satyr named Marsyus who had the audacity to beat him in a music competition. But usually his punishments were moderate, and sometimes they even revealed a sense of humor. When King Midas voted for his competitor in a musical competition, Apollo gave him the ears of a jackass. The embarrassed king had to wear a cap over his ears for the rest of his life!

Apollo is usually depicted as a handsome, beardless youth wearing a wreath of laurel leaves and holding his bow, or a lyre, his favorite musical instrument. You can read the intriguing story of how Apollo came to play the lyre in the stories of Hermes. Although most of the myths of Apollo feature him “in action”, he was actually known more for his achievements than his acts and was seldom embroiled in the continuous quarrels and unfolding dramas that constituted life on Mount Olympus. Somewhat detached from the others, Apollo was often “away” when things were happening, of simply uninvolved. Perhaps he did “learn his lesson” as Zeus had hoped, although it took a second exile before he got the message. After he returned from his first exile, Apollo took part in a plot by the Olympians, led by Poseidon, to overthrow Zeus’ reign as their ruler. All the gods and goddesses agreed that something had to change, that Zeus was proving to be too arrogant and heavy-handed. The attempted coup failed, but Zeus did try to do better from then on and was quite lenient in punishing all of them.

Poseidon and Apollo were both sentenced to one year of manual labor, to be served on earth helping build the walls around Troy while disguised as ordinary mortals. They served their sentences without complaint, but when the King of Troy refused to honor his contract and pay them for their work, the angry Poseidon sent a horrible sea monster and Apollo caused a plague to rain down on the city of Troy. Soon the bodies of the dead and dying were stacked as high as the great wall around the city. The king relented and paid his debt. Just as he could summon a plague, Apollo was also called upon to prevent and cure all manner of illness for he was a healer of great knowledge and skill. The favorite son of Zeus, Apollo had a favorite son himself. He was once in love with Coronis. She was pregnant with his child, but Apollo was fearful that she might take another lover during one of his frequent absences. So Apollo dispatched a white raven to spy on her for him. When the raven reported that she had betrayed his trust, he was displeased and turned the raven’s feathers black. Then he killed Coronis, but suddenly regretting it, he saved the unborn child.

Naming him Asclepius, he reared the child himself and trained him in the healing arts. Asclepius became a famous physician and is generally considered to be the “Father of Modern Medicine”. Indeed, his skill was so great that, after he restored life to one of his patients who had died, Zeus had to kill him since only the Fates were allowed to determine whether someone lived or died. Apollo was a god who had a clear idea of what was right and what was wrong. He believed strongly in law and order. He interpreted the law for mortals and gave the cities their legal institutions, including civic courts so that disputes could be settled without bloodshed. Uncomfortable as Apollo was with chaos and tumult, or even passionate intensity, he was an idealist with a vision of a society that could live peacefully under the rule of fairness and of law. It is from the Greek god Apollo that we get the sayings "Know thyself" and the call to moderation in all things, the Golden Mean, reminding us to do "nothing in excess".

Driving his golden chariot to pull the sun across the sky each day, Apollo’s most important role was that of Helios, Greek god of the sun, his golden light brightening the lives of all it touched. Apollo was a favorite of the people of Rhodes. The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is an immense statue of the Greek god Apollo (as Helios Apollo). In ancient times, the citizens of Rhodes would cast a chariot and four horses into the sea each year as a tribute or gift to him, presumably to allow him to replace last year's model and continue to make his grand journey across the sky each day in style. The Symbols of the Greek God Apollo * Silver bow and arrow Apollo Apollo by Ron Leadbetter The son of Zeus and Leto , and the twin brother of Artemis . Apollo was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the choir of the Muses ) and also of prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry and the carer of herds and flocks.

He was also a god of light, known as "Phoebus" (radiant or beaming, and he was sometimes identified with Helios the sun god). He was also the god of plague and was worshiped as Smintheus (from sminthos, rat) and as Parnopius (from parnops, grasshopper) and was known as the destroyer of rats and locust, and according to Homer's Iliad, Apollo shot arrows of plague into the Greek camp. Apollo being the god of religious healing would give those guilty of murder and other immoral deeds a ritual purification. Sacred to Apollo are the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans, he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf and the dolphin. His attributes are the bow and arrows, on his head a laurel crown, and the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. But his most famous attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic powers.

When the goddesss Hera , the wife of Zeus (it was he who had coupled with Leto) found out about Leto's pregnancy, she was outraged with jealousy. Seeking revenge Hera forced Leto to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth. Sicne Hera had forbidden Leto to stay anywhere on earth, either on terra-ferma or an island at sea, the only place to seek shelter was Delos, being in the center of the Aegean, and also difficult to reach, as there were strong under-currents, because it was said to be a floating island. Because it was a floating island, it was not considered either of Hera's prohibitions, and so Leto was able to give birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis (before Leto gave birth to Apollo, the island was encircled by a flock of swans, this is why the swan was sacred to him). As a gesture of thanks Delos was secured to the sea-bed by four columns to give it stability, and from then on it became one of the most important sanctuaries to Apollo.

(A variation of Apollo's birth was that the jealous Hera had incarcerated Ilithyia , the goddess of childbirth, but the other gods intervened forcing Hera to release Ilithyia, which allowed Leto to give birth ). Apollo's first achievement was to rid Pytho ( Delphi ) of the serpent (or dragon) Python . This monstrous beast protected the sanctuary of Pytho from its lair beside the Castalian Spring. There it stood guard while the "Sibyl" gave out her prophecies as she inhaled the trance inducing vapors from an open chasm. Apollo killed Python with his bow and arrows (Homer wrote "he killed the fearsome dragon Python, piercing it with his darts"). Apollo not only took charge of the oracle but rid the neighboring countryside of widespread destruction, as Python had destroyed crops, sacked villages and polluted streams and springs. However, to make amends for killing Python, as the fearsome beast was the son of Gaia , Apollo had to serve king Admetus for nine years (in some versions eight) as a cowherd.

This he did, and when he returned to Pytho he came in the guise of a dolphin bringing with him priests from Crete (Apollo's cult title "Delphinios" meaning dolphin or porpoise, is probably how Delphi was so named). After killing Python and taking possession of the oracle, the god of light (Phobus) became known as "Pythian Apollo". He dedicated a bronze tripod to the sanctuary and bestowed divine powers on one of the priestesses, and she became known as the "Pythia". It was she who inhaled the hallucinating vapors from the fissure in the temple floor, while she sat on a tripod chewing laurel leaves. After she mumbled her answer, a male priest would translate it for the supplicant. Delphi became the most important oracle center of Apollo, there were several including Clarus and Branchidae. Apollo, as with Zeus his father, had many love affairs with goddesses and mortals. Apollo's infatuation for the nymph Daphne , which had been invoked by the young god of love Eros , because Apollo had mocked him, saying his archery skills were pathetic, and Apollo's singing had also irritated him.

Daphne was the beautiful daughter of the river god Ladon, and she was constantly pursued by Apollo. To escape from Apollo's insistent behavior, she fled to the mountains, but the persistent Apollo followed her. Annoyed by this, she asked the river god Peneus for help, which he did. As soon as Apollo approached Daphne, he tried to embrace her, but when he stretched out his arms she transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo, distraught by what had happened, made the laurel his sacred tree. Apollo also loved Cyrene , she was another nymph, and she bore Apollo a son: Aristaeus , a demi-god, who became a protector of cattle and fruit trees, and a deity of hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He taught men dairy skills and the use of nets and traps in hunting. The most famous mortal loves of Apollo was Hecuba , she was the wife of Priam , the king of Troy. She bore him Troilius. Foretold by an oracle, as long as Troilius reached the age of twenty, Troy could not be defeated.

But the hero Achilles ambushed and killed him, when the young prince and his sister Polyxena secretly visited a spring. Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra , the sister of Troilius, and daughter of Hecuba and Priam. He seduced Cassandra on the promise that he would teach her the art of prophecy, but having learnt the prophetic art she rejected him. Apollo, being angry of her rejection punished her, by declaring her prophecies never to be accepted or believed. Asclepius , the god of healing, was also Apollo's offspring, after his union with Coronis , who was daughter of Phlegyas , king of the Lapiths. While she was pregnant by Apollo, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus, but a crow informed Apollo of the affair. Apollo sent his twin sister Artemis to kill Coronis, and Artemis carried out he brothers wishes. While her body was burning on the funeral pyre, Apollo removed the unborn child, and took him to Chiron , who raised the child Asclepius. Apollo also, as did his father Zeus, fall in love with one of his own gender, Hyacinthus , a Spartan prince.

He was very handsome and athletic, which inflamed the passions of Apollo. One day while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing throwing the discus, Zephyrus , the god of the west wind, who was also attracted to the young prince, and jealous of Apollo's amorous affection towards the boy, made the discus veer off course by blowing an ill wind. The discus, which Apollo had thrown, hit Hyacinthus, smashing his skull. Apollo rushed to him, but he was dead. The god was overcome with grief, but to immortalize the love he had for the beautiful youth, he had a flower grow were his blood had stained the earth. Apollo also loved the young boy Cyparissus , a descendant of Heracles . The impassioned Apollo gave Cyparissus a sacred deer, as a love token. The young deer became tame, and was the constant companion of the boy, until a tragic accident occurred. As the young deer lay sleeping in the shade of the undergrowth, Cyparissus threw his javelin, which by chance hit, and killed the deer. Grief-stricken by what had happened, Cyparissus wanted to die.

He asked Apollo to let his tears fall for all eternity. With apprehension Apollo transformed the boy into a tree, the cypress, which became the symbol of sorrow, as the sap on its trunk forms droplets, like tears. Apollo could also be ruthless when he was angered. The mortal Niobe , boasted to Apollo's mother Leto, that she had fourteen children (in some versions six or seven), which must make her more superior than Leto, who had only bore two. Apollo greatly angered by this slew her sons, and Artemis killed Niobe's daughters. Niobe wept so much that she turned into a pillar of stone. Apollo was infuriated when the satyr Marsyas challenged Apollo to music contest. After winning the competition, Apollo had Marsyas flayed alive, for being so presumptuous, as to challenge a god. Apollo was worshiped throughout the Greek world, at Delphi every four years they held the Pythian Games in his honor. He had many epithets, including "Pythian Apollo" (his name at Delphi), "Apollo Apotropaeus" (Apollo who averts evil), and "Apollo Nymphegetes" (Apollo who looks after the Nymphs).

As the god of shepherds he also had the cult titles "Lukeios" (from lykos; wolf), protecting the flocks from wolfs, and "Nomius" (of pastures, belonging to shepherds). Being the god of colonists, Apollo influenced his priests at Delphi to give divine guidance, as to where the expedition should proceed. This was during the height of the colonizing era circa 750-550 BCE. Apollo's title was "Archigetes" (leader of colonists). According to one legend, it was Apollo who helped either Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy. In art Apollo is at most times depicted as a handsome young man, clean shaven and carrying either a lyre, or his bow and arrows. There are many sculptures of Apollo and one of the most famous is the central figure from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus, at Olympia, showing Apollo declaring victory in favor of the Lapiths in their struggle against the Centaurs . A song sung in honor of Apollo is called a paean. Article details:

Question: According to Greek mythology, who was the mother of the twins Apollo and Artemis?
Answer: LETO