The birth of the twins, Artemis and Apollo

The twins, Artemis and Apollo (Apollon), were born of the king of all gods Zeus and Leto, the daughter of the titans Coeus and Phoebe. Leto was a kind, gracious, and lovable diety. She was hated by Hera for seducing her husband, so when Leto became pregnant she forbade any place under the sun to give shelter to that sinful woman. Hera even held her own daughter Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, firmly in her arm in order to prevent her from helping Leto. Zeus felt sorrow for poor Leto and their unborn children and so he transformed her into a quail (ortyx).

This way she could be concealed while searching for a place to give birth to their children. She wandered around Greece aimlessly, for no place seemed willing to take her it. Finally, Leto discovered a tiny cycladic island close to Mykonos named "Asteria" (or Ortygia, deriving from Leto's transformation into a quail). This island had been beaten by the waves, pushed around by the sea, and still had no fixed position in the ocean but it was still wiling to accept Leto. When Leto settled, the island became firm and the name was change to "Delos" - the unconcealed one.

For the next nine days and nine nights Leto struggled through strong pains until finally on the tenth day, Leto went close to a small lake and leaned against a palm tree. She unfastened her belt and gave birth to Artemis. Artemis then acted as a midwife to her mother and helped her birth her brother, Apollo. For this reason she was declared the new Goddess of childbirth. Themis, Leto's aunt, took care of and nursed the young gods on ambrosia and nectar.

Artemis and Apollo Cinematic Video by Kristin Dean: