“Apollo and Artemis were two twins born by the king of the gods Zeus and Leto, a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe… [Leto] gave birth to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. Artemis then acted as a midwife to her mother to bring her brother Apollo to the world. For this reason, she was declared as the new goddess of the childbirth, taking the place of Hera’s daughter Eilithyia.” (source)
Artemis is the great Olympian goddess of hunting, wilderness, and wild animals. She is also a goddess of childbirth, and the protectress of the girl child up to the age of marriage. Her twin brother Apollon is similarly the protector of the boy child. Together the gods are also bringers of sudden death and disease–Artemis targets women and girls, and Apollon men and boys.
