Leto is a word that can refer to different things depending on the context. Here are some possible meanings of Leto:

• Leto is a goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion, who is the mother of Apollo and Artemis, the twin deities of music and hunting. She is the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria. She was pursued by Zeus, the king of the gods, and gave birth to her children on the island of Delos, after being rejected by many other lands. She is associated with the symbols of the veil, dates, palm tree, olive tree, rooster, wolf, weasel and gryphon.
• Jared Leto is an American actor and musician, who is known for his method acting in a variety of roles, such as a transgender woman in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), a heroin addict in Requiem for a Dream (2000), a Joker in Suicide Squad (2016) and a blind replicant in Blade Runner 2049 (2017). He has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Additionally, he is recognised for his musicianship and eccentric stage persona as a member of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, which he founded with his brother Shannon Leto in 1998.

Leto is a name that can evoke different images and emotions depending on the perspective of the listener or reader. Whether it is a divine figure or a human artist, Leto is a name that has left its mark on history and culture.

Leto has been depicted and referenced in various forms of art and literature throughout history. Some examples are:

• The Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo is an ancient Greek poem that narrates the birth of Apollo and Artemis on Delos, and praises their mother Leto for her endurance and courage. It also describes the island’s transformation from a barren rock to a sacred sanctuary for the gods.
• Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a Latin epic poem that retells the myths of ancient Greece and Rome with a focus on transformations. One of the stories is about Leto and her children being harassed by the giant Tityos, who tries to rape her. Apollo and Artemis kill him with their arrows, and he is punished in the underworld by having two vultures eat his liver.
• Rubens’s The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus is a Baroque painting that depicts the abduction of the princesses Phoebe and Hilaeira by the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux. The painting shows Leto, their mother, watching the scene from a chariot drawn by swans. She is accompanied by her children Apollo and Artemis, who are also the half-siblings of the Dioscuri.
• Byron’s Don Juan is a satirical poem that follows the adventures of the legendary lover Don Juan. In one of the cantos, he visits Greece and meets Haidee, a beautiful girl who lives on an island with her father Lambro. The poet compares Haidee to Leto, saying that she is “the loveliest thing / That ever came from Leto’s starry bed”.
• Woolf’s Orlando is a novel that explores the themes of gender, identity and time through the life of Orlando, a man who becomes a woman and lives for centuries. In one of the chapters, Orlando meets a group of gypsies in Turkey and falls in love with one of them, Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine. She calls him “my Leto”, referring to his dark hair and eyes.

Leto is a name that has inspired many artists and writers to create works that reflect her attributes and stories. She is a name that represents beauty, motherhood, resilience and diversity.