This is a learning module about the mythological story of the birth of the twins: Apollo and Artemis. It also includes the summary of the myth.

1. Birth of the Twins (Greek Mythology) – Summary
Leto, the Goddess ofmotherhood,was the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. She was the
cousin ofthe Olympian Gods and Goddesses. Now the King ofthe Olympians, Zeus, happened to be
attracted to her beauty. Hera, the mostconservative ofthe goddess, happened to know that Zeus, her
husband, had impregnated Leto. So she banned her from giving birth to all the lands that there is sunlight.
Hera then sent the Python to chase Leto throughout the lands, so that she could notdeliver wherever the
sun shone. She even held her daughter Eileithyia, the goddess ofchildbirth, firmly in her arms to preventher
from supporting Leto on her labour. Zeus felt sorrow for Leto, so he transformed her into a quail into order to
give birth, butit seems that there is no place to shelter Leto. Then, Leto discovered an island called Asteria.
The island has no fixed or permanentposition in the sea but when Leto settled on the island, it became firm
and its name was changed into Delos or The Unconcealed One. There, Leto gave birth painlessly to
Artemis. But since Hera kidnapped Eilethyia, who happened to be the Goddess ofChildbirth, Leto’s labour
into her second child is much more painful and it took her nine days and nine nights to give birth to Artemis’
twin brother, Apollo. Artemis, happened to be the mid-wife to her mother. She helped Leto to give birth on
her twin brother. During the Birth of Apollo, some goddesses arrived to witness his birth, such as Rhea,
mother ofZeus and Aunt of Leto, and Amphitrite, the consortof Poseidon.