Where wolves gather, Leto is not far behind. In fact, there’s a good chance that she’s leading the pack.
As we know, wolves are not helpless. They are cunning creatures, revered for their strength, endurance, and compassionate nature towards their kin.
So why do so many tales paint Leto as an incapable, weak woman? Despite what some would want us to believe, Leto has much to offer apart from her striking beauty and ability to bear children. She is a powerful witch, a guardian, and a beloved wolf-goddess who faithfully protects her followers in this life and beyond.
But many tales from Greek Mythology still dismiss Leto as nothing more than one of Zeus’s countless lovers. And while it’s true that Zeus pursued Leto (despite being married to Hera) until they both gave into desire, there is more to the story.
Some say that Leto and Zeus’s tryst lasted for years. Others insist it was a one-time affair. Regardless, when Hera found out about Zeus’s infidelity and the resulting pregnancy, she flew into a rage. It wasn’t that she didn’t know that her husband had a wandering eye, but she couldn’t bear the possibility of Zeus favoring a child that wasn’t hers. Unfortunately for Hera, she couldn’t change what had already been set into motion—but nothing would stop her from trying.
To punish Leto and Zeus for her pain and embarrassment, Hera cursed Leto so that she couldn’t give birth anywhere tied to land.
But a mother will always find a way.
When she realized her dilemma, Leto transformed into a wolf and scoured the earth for a safe place for her pups. Eventually, she discovered Delos, an island that was not attached to the ocean floor, and therefore immune from Hera’s curse. Free from Hera’s watchful gaze (or so she thought), Leto gave birth to a daughter, Artemis. The delivery was quick and painless, but it wasn’t over yet—there was another baby on the way.
The island of Delos protected Leto from the original curse, but Hera still had some tricks on her sleeve. When she saw that Leto was about to have twins, Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth and midwifery, to prevent the new mother from bringing her second child into the world. But Hera did not anticipate Artemis’s love for her mother. Artemis stepped up as midwife, and for nine days and nine nights, she cared for her mother until she delivered her brother—Apollo.
Even before Apollo took his first breath, he was his father’s favorite son. Upon hearing the news, Hera became inconsolable. She continued to curse Leto any way that she could, usually sending dragons and serpents to do her dirty work. But Leto’s wolf pack had grown. With Artemis and Apollo as their mother’s fierce protectors, Hera was powerless to touch Leto.
Artemis and Apollo were born with divinity flowing through their veins, but where did they learn these protective instincts? Certainly not from their father, who watched Hera’s antics with distaste, but did little to dissuade her from trying to murder the mother of his twins.
No, it was Leto, the wolf mother, who taught her children how to hunt, when to hide, and that a family always defends the entire pack.
A mother also knows when to let go. So, when Leto taught her children everything that she could, and saw that their powers far surpassed hers, she sent them to Mount Olympus to live with their father and the rest of the gods. From there, the twins learned to nurture their gifts and ruled alongside Zeus and the other Olympians. But, no matter how busy they were, the twins always made time to check in with their mother in Lykia, where a temple was constructed in her name sometime during the 5th century BCE.
As the granddaughter of Gaia, Leto cares deeply for the earth and the creatures that call this planet home. Although Zeus took credit for creating Delos, the island where Leto gave birth to the Artemis and Apollo, we might also consider that this was a gift from her ancestors. Today, the Temple of Leto sits in ruins. However, the wolf-goddess still watches over families (especially single parents and their children) and offers the gift of divine communication to anyone who works with animals.
Wolf and Raven Candle
$ 8.00
Both the wolf and raven are regarded as creatures of omens (good and bad), prophesy, magic, healing, and transformations. Their myth and lore travel deep into a variety of cultures. Native American tribes believed in the Athabascan Myth, for example, that the… read more
