Editing Apollo (section)

===Birth===
[[File:Arte romana, latona in fuga con artemide e apollo, 350-400 dc ca. (kunstsien stichting).jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Leto fleeing with Artemis and Apollo, AD 350–400, in Kunstsien Stichting]]

====''Homeric Hymn to Apollo''====
Pregnant with the offspring of Zeus, Leto wandered through many lands wanting to give birth to Apollo. However all the lands rejected her out of fear. Upon reaching Delos, Leto requested the island to shelter her, and that in return her son would bring fame and prosperity to the island. Delos then revealed to Leto that Apollo was rumoured to be the god who will "greatly lord it among gods and men all over the fruitful earth". For this reason, all the lands were fearful and Delos feared that Apollo would cast her aside once he is born. Hearing this, Leto swore on the river Styx that if she is allowed to give birth on the island, her son would honour Delos the most amongst all the other lands. Assured by this, Delos agreed to assist Leto. All goddesses except Hera also came to aid Leto.<ref name=":0" />

However, Hera had tricked [[Eileithyia]], the goddess of childbirth, to stay on Olympus, due to which Leto was unable to give birth. The goddesses then convinced Iris to go bring Eileithyia by offering her a necklace of amber 9 yards (8.2 m) long. Iris did accordingly and persuaded Eileithyia to step onto the island. Thus, clutching a palm tree, Leto finally gave birth after labouring for nine days and nine nights, with Apollo "leaping forth" from his mother's womb. The goddesses washed the newborn, covered him in a white garment and fastened golden bands around him. As Leto was unable to feed him, [[Themis]], the goddess of divine law, fed him nectar and [[ambrosia]]. Upon tasting the divine food, the child broke free of the bands fastened onto him and declared that he would be the master of [[lyre]] and archery, and interpret the will of Zeus to humankind. He then started to walk, which caused the island to be filled with gold.<ref name=":0">"Homeric hymn to Delian Apollo"</ref>

====Callimachus' ''Hymn to Delos''====
The island Delos used to be [[Asteria]], a goddess who jumped into the waters to escape the advances of Zeus and became a free-floating island of the same name. When Leto got pregnant, Hera was told that Leto's son would become more dear to Zeus than Ares. Enraged by this, Hera watched over the heavens and sent out Ares and Iris to prevent Leto from giving birth on the earth. Ares, stationed over the mainland, and Iris, over the islands, threatened all the lands and prevented them from helping Leto.<ref name=":1" />

When Leto arrived at Thebes, fetal Apollo prophesied from his mother's womb that in the future he would punish a slanderous woman in Thebes ([[Niobe]]), so he did not want to be born there. Leto then went to Thessaly and sought the help of the river nymphs who were the daughters of the river Peneus. Though he was initially fearful and reluctant, Peneus later decided to let Leto give birth in his waters. He did not change his mind even when Ares produced a terrifying sound and threatened to hurl mountain peaks into the river. But Leto herself declined his help and departed, as she did not want him to suffer for her sake.<ref name=":1" />

After being turned away from various lands, Apollo spoke again from the womb, asking his mother to take look at the floating island in front of her and expressing his wish to be born there. When Leto approached Asteria, all the other islands fled. But Asteria welcomed Leto without any fear of Hera. Walking on the island, she sat down against a palm tree and asked Apollo to be born. During the childbirth, swans circled the island seven times, a sign that later on Apollo would play the seven-stringed lyre. When Apollo finally "leapt forth" from his mother's womb, the nymphs of the island sang a hymn to Eileithyia that was heard to the heavens. The moment Apollo was born, the entire island, including the trees and the waters, became gold. Asteria bathed the newborn, swaddled him and fed him with her breast milk. The island had become rooted and was later called Delos.<ref name=":1" />

Hera was no longer angry, as Zeus had managed to calm her down; and she held no grudge against Asteria, since Asteria had rejected Zeus in the past.<ref name=":1">"Callimachus, ''Hymn to Delos''"</ref>

[[File:Metropolitan Richart Latona.jpg|thumb|Leto with her children, by [[William Henry Rinehart]]|left]]

====Pindar====

Pindar is the earliest source who explicitly calls Apollo and Artemis as twins. Here, Asteria is also stated to be Leto's sister. Wanting to escape Zeus' advances, she flung herself into the sea and became a floating rock called Ortygia until the twins were born.<ref>Pindar, ''Pa. VII b''</ref> When Leto stepped on the rock, four pillars with adamantine bases rose from the earth and held up the rock.<ref>Pindar, ''Processional Song on Delos''</ref> When Apollo and Artemis were born, their bodies shone radiantly and a chant was sung by Eileithyia and [[Lachesis]], one of the three [[Moirai]].<ref>Pindar, ''Pa. XII''</ref>

====Hyginus====

Scorning the advances of Zeus, Asteria transformed herself into a bird and jumped into a sea. From her, an island rose which was called Ortygia.<ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae 53''</ref> When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant with Zeus' child, she decreed that Leto can give birth only in a place where sun does not shine. During this time, the monster Python also started hounding Leto with an intent of killing her, because he had foreseen his death coming at the hands of Leto's offspring. However, on Zeus' orders, [[Boreas (god)|Boreas]] carried away Leto and entrusted her to [[Poseidon]]. To protect her, Poseidon took her to the island Ortygia and covered it with waves so that the sun would not shine on it. Leto gave birth clinging to an olive tree and henceforth the island was called Delos.<ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' ''140''</ref>

[[File:Latona with the infants Apollo and Artemis, by Francesco Pozzi, 1824, marble - Sculpture Gallery, Chatsworth House - Derbyshire, England - DSC03504.jpg|thumb|Leto with Apollo and Artemis, by [[Francesco Pozzi]]]]

==== Other variations ====
Aside from those mentioned above, more variations on the story of Apollo's birth include:

Aelian states that it took Leto twelve days and twelve nights to travel from Hyperborea to Delos.<ref>Aelian, ''Characteristics of Animals 4. 4''</ref> Leto changed herself into a she-wolf before giving birth. This is given as the reason why Homer describes Apollo as the "wolf-born god".<ref>Aelian, ''Characteristics of Animals 10. 26''</ref><ref>Homer, ''Iliad''</ref>

Libanius wrote that neither land nor visible islands would receive Leto, but by the will of Zeus Delos then became visible, and thus received Leto and the children.<ref>Libanius, ''Progymnasmata 2.25''</ref>

According to Strabo, the [[Curetes (tribe)|Curetes]] helped Leto by creating loud noises with their weapons and thus frightening Hera, they concealed Leto's childbirth.<ref>Strabo, ''Geography 14. 1. 20''</ref>

Theognis wrote that the island was filled with ambrosial fragrance when Apollo was born, and the Earth laughed with joy.<ref>Theognis, ''Fragment 1. 5''</ref>

In some versions, [[Artemis]] was born first and subsequently assisted with the birth of Apollo.<ref>Servius, ''Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid 3.7''</ref><ref>Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1.21</ref>

While in some accounts Apollo's birth itself fixed the floating Delos to the earth, there are accounts of Apollo securing Delos to the bottom of the ocean a little while later.<ref>Virgil, ''Aeneid'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0052%3Abook%3D3%3Acard%3D69 3.80]</ref><ref>Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca''</ref> 
This island became sacred to Apollo and was one of the major cult centres of the god.
Apollo was born on the seventh day ({{lang|grc|ἑβδομαγενής}}, ''hebdomagenes'')<ref>{{LSJ|e(bdomagenh/s|ἑβδομαγενής|shortref}}.</ref> of the month [[Attic calendar#Festival calendar (lunisolar)|Thargelion]]—according to Delian tradition—or of the month [[Hellenic calendars#Delphic|Bysios]]—according to Delphian tradition. The seventh and twentieth, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to him.{{sfn|Freese|1911|p=184}}