Eileithyia- Greek GodDeity"Goddess of Childbirth"

Daughter of Hera

Eileithyia was the daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of childbirth — the presence a laboring mother either begged for or was denied. By loosening her hands and belt she could hasten delivery; by crossing her limbs outside the chamber she could hold it back entirely. Hera used this power whenever she wanted to punish Zeus's mortal lovers. Homer invokes her pains even on the battlefield: when Agamemnon takes a spear wound before Troy, the poet compares his agony to the pangs sent by the Eileithyiai.

Hera's Weapon

When Alcmene labored to bear Heracles, Hera sent Eileithyia to delay the birth while ensuring that Eurystheus was born first — making him the elder and thus master over Heracles. For seven days and nights Alcmene suffered, held in torment by the goddess sitting cross-legged outside the chamber. Only when Galanthis, a servant, ran out crying that the birth had already occurred did the goddess start in surprise, uncrossing her limbs and allowing Heracles into the world. Eileithyia punished the trick: she turned Galanthis into a weasel.

When Leto labored to bear Apollo and Artemis on the floating island of Delos, Hera detained Eileithyia on Olympus for nine days. The goddesses attending Leto sent Iris with a golden necklace to bribe Eileithyia down, and the moment she arrived, Leto's suffering ended and the divine twins were born.

The Amnisus Cave

Pindar addressed Eileithyia as the goddess seated beside the Moirai — the Fates — who brings children into the light. Homer places a cave sacred to her at Amnisus, the port of Knossos, and her name appears on Linear B tablets from the same site — she was worshipped on Crete long before the Olympian gods received their mythology. Pregnant women visited her sanctuaries seeking safe delivery.