Page:Origin and Growth of Religion (Rhys).djvu/513

Rh to belong to the same mythical category as that of Goleuᵭyᵭ, and to refer to the goddess as the mother of the blazing sun, or else, more probably, to her as a personification of the light that overspreads the sky before the sun appears above the horizon, or after he has just sunk below it. Originally, however, it may have alluded more particularly to the hot days of summer; for myths about the sun may have to do with the seasons of the year as well as with the landmarks within the narrower space of a day. It is unfortunate that classical scholars have nothing certain to say as to the meaning of the name of Apollo's mother Leto or Latona, in whom we undoubtedly have one of the Hellenic counterparts of the Celtic figures which we have been trying to examine.

In the foregoing stories the Sun-god is, as a rule, not brought up by his mother, and in the next to be mentioned the separation between mother and son is brought about in a remarkable way. The following is the purport of the tale: —Pwyỻ Prince of Dyved had taken to wife