Eileithyia

Greek goddess of childbirth and labour-pains, daughter of Zeus and Hera and sister of Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus (named among Hera children in the registry Hera entry). In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Hera detained her from Delos to prolong Leto labour, until Iris fetched her and Apollo was born. Her oldest and most sacred cult was the cave at Amnisos near Knossos in Crete, named already in the Odyssey; the Romans equated her with Lucina (an aspect of Juno) and with Diana.

Parentage

• father: ZeusHesiod, Theogony 921–923 (primary)
• mother: HeraHesiod, Theogony 921–923 (primary)

Domains

• childbirth
• midwifery

Powers

• Loose or bind the womb to release or arrest childbirth
• Bring the child out of darkness into the light

Epithets

• Λυσίζωνος Greek · Lysizonos · cultLoosener of the girdleTheoi Project s.v. Eileithyia (secondary)
• Λουκίνα Latin · Lucina · interpretatioShe who brings to light (Roman name)Ovid, Fasti 2.449-452; 3.255 (primary)
• Εἰλείθυια Ἀμνισία Greek · Amnisia · cultof Amnisos (her Cretan cave-sanctuary)Homer, Odyssey 19.188; Linear B Am-ni-so e-re-u-ti-ja (primary)

Relations

• sibling: HebeFull sibling; the children of Zeus and Hera.Hes. Theog. 921-923 (primary)
• sibling: AresHes. Theog. 921-923 (primary)
• father: ZeusHesiod, Theogony 921–923 (primary)
• mother: HeraHesiod, Theogony 921–923 (primary)

Sources

• existence: Hesiod, Theogony 922; Homer, Iliad 11.270-271, 16.187, 19.103, 19.119; Homeric Hymn to Apollo 97-119; Pausanias 1.18.5 (primary)
• parentage: Hesiod, Theogony 921-923 (daughter of Hera and Zeus) (primary)