Ortygia

Ortygia (/ɔrˈtɪdʒɪə/; Italian: Ortigia) is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as Città Vecchia (Old City), contains many historical landmarks. The name originates from the Ancient Greek ortyx (ὄρτυξ), which means "Quail".

Overview

The Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo has it that the goddess Leto stopped at Ortygia to give birth to Artemis, the firstborn of her twins. Artemis then helped Leto across the sea to the island of Delos, where Leto gave birth to Apollo. Other ancient sources state that the twins were born in the same place—which was either Delos or Ortygia— but Ortygia was an old name of Delos. Further, there were perhaps a half-dozen other places called Ortygia, so that the identification is uncertain.

It was also said that Asteria, the sister of Leto metamorphosed into a quail (Ortux), threw herself into the sea, and was metamorphosed into the island Ortygia. Another myth suggested that it was Delos instead of Ortygia.