Leto that it took Leto to travel from the Hyperboreoi to Delos. Most accounts agree that she found the barren floating island of Delos, still bearing its archaic name of Asterios, which was neither mainland nor a real island and gave birth there, promising the island wealth from the worshippers who would flock to the obscure birthplace of the splendid god who was to come. The island was surrounded by swans. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars and later became sacred to Apollo. Callimachus wrote that it is remarkable that Leto brought forth Artemis, the elder
Leto forward to explain the origin of the goddess and the meaning of her name. Older sources speculated that the name is related to the Greek λήθη "lḗthē" (lethe, oblivion) and λωτός "lotus" (the fruit that brings oblivion to those who eat it). It would thus mean "the hidden one". In 20th-century sources "Leto" is traditionally derived from Lycian "lada", "wife", as her earliest cult was centered in Lycia. Lycian "lada" may also be the origin of the Greek name Λήδα "Leda". Other scholars (Paul Kretschmer, Erich Bethe, Pierre Chantraine and R. S. P. Beekes) have suggested a Pre-Greek origin. According