Night of the Hunters: Artemis and Apollo (Diana)

Two other children of Zeus rose to take their place among the greatest of Olympians.
According to myth, Apollo and Artemis were born to Zeus, the god of thunder, and Leto, the Titan
goddess of modesty and motherhood. After the Titanomachy, the ten-year war between the Titans
and the Olympians, Zeus allowed Leto her freedom since she hadn’t taken any sides. Zeus was also
captivated by her extreme beauty and seduced her. Soon, Leto was pregnant. When Zeus’ jealous
wife Hera found out about Leto’s pregnancy, she tried all she could to prevent Leto from giving birth.
She forbade the land and water from giving sanctuary to Leto who had to travel across the ancient
world, looking for a place to give birth to her child. Eventually, Leto came across the barren floating
island of Delos which gave her sanctuary since it was neither land nor sea. Once Leto was safely on
Delos, she gave birth to a daughter who she named Artemis. However, Leto hadn’t known that she
was pregnant with twins and soon, with Artemis’ help, another child was born. This time it was a son
and he was named Apollo. According to various sources Artemis was born after Apollo, but in most
stories she’s depicted as the firstborn child who also played the role of midwife for the birth of her
brother.

Diana, in Roman religion, goddess of wild animals and the hunt, identified with the Greek
goddess Artemis. Her name is akin to the Latin words dium (“sky”) and dius (“daylight”). Like her
Greek counterpart, she was also a goddess of domestic animals. When Artemis grew up, she became
the virgin goddess of hunting, wild animals and childbirth since it was she who had helped her
mother deliver her brother. Artemis, as a goddess, was immortal and had a great deal of power over
mortals and events on earth. In addition to the powers ordinary to all gods and goddesses, she
possesses perfect aim with a bow, the ability to change herself and others into animals, and control
disease and healing. One mortal who angered her was changed into a deer, chased down and torn to
shreds by his own pack of hunting dogs. When king Oneus of Calydonia neglected Artemis in his
annual sacrifice to the gods, she was enraged. She sent a mythical boar to ravage the countryside,
driving the people to take refuge within the city walls. It took a group of legendary hunters, including
Laertes, the father of Odysseus, to destroy the boar and set the region free. She was also highly
skilled at archery and she and Apollo became the protectors of little children. She spent most of her
time in the mountains and although she was the goddess of wild animals, she loved to hunt. Zeus
gave Artemis everything she wanted. He had the Cyclopes make a silver bow and a quiver full of
arrows. He made all the mountains her domain and gifted her 30 cities, naming her the guardian of
all the harbors and roads in the world. According to the Homeric Hymn to Artemis, the twins were
born on Ortygia. Either way, most of the accounts say that Artemis came first. As a result, she was a
fierce protector and nurturer of Apollo.

Apollo is one of the most widely revered and influential of all the ancient Greek and Roman
gods. Like his sister, Apollo was an excellent archer and became known as the god of archery. He
was also in charge of several other domains such as music, healing, youth and prophecy. Apollo was
an overachiever. He was also honorable, brave, and cautious. If you are on Apollo's good side he will
give healing gifts and he also has good musical ability when in a good mood. He is a wise god who is
always truthful and energetic. He is mostly cheerful and kind, but can get jealous sometimes. Apollo
rarely got upset, but there is a few things that would offend or upset him. Any insults toward Leto,
Apollo's mother, would upset him. Another thing that would upset him was when gods and mortal
men would cross boundaries. Apollo had a clear idea of right and wrong, therefore, a strong believer
in law and order. He believed that society could live happy and peaceful lives if thee was strong laws.
When Apollo was four days old, he wanted a bow and some arrows which Hephaestus, the god of
fire, made for him. As soon as he got the bow and arrows, he set off to find Python, the serpent that
had tormented his mother. Python was seeking refuge in Delphi but Apollo chased him into a shrine
of the Oracle of Mother Earth (Gaia) and killed the beast there. Even the gods feared him, and only
his father and his mother, Leto (Roman: Latona), could easily endure his presence. He was also a god
of crops and herds, primarily as a divine bulwark against wild animals and disease. His forename
Phoebus means “bright” or “pure,” and the view became current that he was connected with the
Sun. Apollo was one of the few gods that the ROMANS KEPT THE SAME NAME. In Greek mythology,
he was most widely known as the god of light. Within Roman mythology, he wasn’t known as much
as the god of light and was focused mainly as the god of healing and prophecy.

They were close and spent a lot of time in each other’s company. The pair were a Greek
example of an ancient archetype of divine twins. While such twins were sometimes inseparable,
Leto’s children were an example of the type that represented duality and balance. While Artemis
and Apollo were opposites, they also complemented one another. One would not be able to work
without the other. The divine twins of Greece represented male and female, day and night, nature
and culture. Both were necessary in equal parts for society, and the world, to function.