Eileithyia (Ancient Greek: Εἰλείθυια), also rendered Ilithyia, is the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery. In the standard genealogy she is a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and she was invoked by women in labour to ease their pain and bring about a safe delivery. Worshipped across Greece from prehistoric through Roman times, she was sometimes multiplied into a plurality, the Eileithyiai, and was closely associated with both Artemis and Hera.
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I.Overview
Eileithyia is the ancient Greek goddess presiding over childbirth and midwifery. Women in labour called upon her to relieve their pains and to allow the child to be safely born, and she stood alongside Artemis as a principal deity of birth.
Her worship was widespread and ancient, extending across the Greek world from the prehistoric period into Roman times. In some contexts she appears not as a single figure but as a group of birth-goddesses, the Eileithyiai.
II.Family
In the usual account Eileithyia is a daughter of Zeus and Hera, which makes her a sister of Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus. Her home was traditionally placed on Mount Olympus among the other gods.
At Elis she was associated with the youthful god Sosipolis, who in local tradition was regarded as her son and was honoured together with her.
III.Mythology
Eileithyia figures in several major birth narratives. According to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Hera kept her away from Delos so that Leto could not be delivered of Apollo and Artemis; only after the goddess Iris was sent to fetch her did the labour come to its end.
She was also depicted assisting at the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, a scene that appears in classical vase painting. Pindar describes her as seated beside the Fates and calls her the maker of offspring, while Homer names her simply as the goddess of childbirth.
IV.Cult
Among the most important sites of her worship was the Cave of Eileithyia near Amnisos, the harbour of Knossos in Crete, which is already mentioned in the Odyssey. Other notable cult centres included Delos, Athens, Olympia and many cities of the Peloponnese, among them Argos, Sparta, Corinth and sites in Arcadia.
Her cult carried strong chthonic elements, which she shared with Hecate, and she was closely linked to Artemis and Hera. Worshippers commonly dedicated votive offerings to her, especially terracotta figurines of children, in thanks for a successful birth.