Eileithyia
Greek · deity · primordial · deity
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
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
- Λουκίνα
- Εἰλείθυια Ἀμνισία