Latona

Family: Olympian gods · Role: goddess · First appears: Fable 15

After Niobe halted Latona’s sacrifice and ordered the Theban women to remove their laurel, Apollo and Diana, her children, destroyed Niobe’s children in revenge. Latona also accused Niobe of daring “to postpone you to her own children.”

In fable 57, Juno banished Latona from the world. At Delos, when it was a light, swimming island, Latona gave birth to twins beside a palm, in spite of Juno, her stepmother. In Lycia, countrymen denied Latona water and muddied the lake; she transformed them into frogs. Earlier, Tityus was slain by Apollo’s arrows and cast into the infernal regions after attempting violence against Latona.

Relationship record

Life events

• Niobe halts the sacrifice to Latona and orders the Theban women to remove their laurel.(Fable56)
  • With: Niobe
  • “Go from the sacrifice; hasten away from the sacrifice, and remove the laurel from your hair!” They remove it, and the sacrifice they leave unperformed”
• Juno banished Latona from the world.(Fable57)
  • With: Juno
  • “whom once the royal Juno banished from the world”
• Latona brought forth twins on Delos.(Fable57 · 📍 Delos)
  • “There Latona, leaning against a palm, together with the tree of Pallas, brought forth twins, in spite of their stepmother {Juno}.”
• Countrymen denied Latona water and muddied the lake.(Fable57 · 📍 country of Lycia)
  • “The Titaness approached, and bending her knee, she pressed the ground, that she might take up the cool water to drink; the company of rustics forbade it.”
• Latona transformed the abusive countrymen into frogs.(Fable57)
  • “For ever may you live in that pool.’ The wish of the Goddess comes to pass. They delight to go beneath the water”

Fable 15

• with Syrinx (Syrinx was only supposed to be Latona's daughter.) “she might have deceived one, and might have been supposed to be the daughter of Latona”

Fable 44

• with Tityus (interaction) “Attempting to commit violence upon Latona, he was slain by the arrows of Apollo, and precipitated to the infernal regions”

Fable 56

• child: Apollo “Apollo and Diana, to avenge the affront offered to their mother, destroy all the children of Niobe”
• child: Diana “Apollo and Diana, to avenge the affront offered to their mother, destroy all the children of Niobe”
• enemies with Niobe “The daughter of Tantalus has added abusive language to her shocking deeds, and has dared to postpone you to her own children”

Fable 57

• enemies with Juno “There Latona, leaning against a palm, together with the tree of Pallas, brought forth twins, in spite of their stepmother {Juno}. Hence, too, the newly delivered {Goddess} is said to have fled from Juno”
• parent: Cæus “For now no longer does the daughter of Cæus supplicate the unworthy {wretches}”

Fable 58

• child: Apollo “the son of Latona visited with punishment.”

Fable 70

• child: Apollo “There was a regal tower built with vocal walls, on which the son of Latona[4] is reported to have laid his golden harp;”

Fable 73

• child: Diana “the daughter of Latona”

Fable 96

• child: Apollo (Apollo is identified by the epithet 'son of Latona'.) “The son of Latona, having {thus} revenged himself”

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Extracted from the original text of The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Made with Rho MD.