Eileithyia

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Eileithyia
Goddess of childbirth
Amphora birth Athena Louvre F32.jpg
The birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, with Eileithyia on the right.
AbodeMount Olympus
Personal information
ParentsZeus and Hera
SiblingsAeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai
ChildrenSosipolis
Roman equivalentLucina

Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (/ɪlɪˈθ.ə/;[1] Greek: Εἰλείθυια; Ἐλεύθυια (Eleuthyia) in Crete, also Ἐλευθία (Eleuthia) or Ἐλυσία (Elysia) in Laconia and Messene, and Ἐλευθώ (Eleuthō) in literature)[2] was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery.[3] In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) she was related with the annual birth of the divine child, and her cult is connected with Enesidaon (the earth shaker), who was the chthonic aspect of the god Poseidon. It is possible that her cult is related with the cult of Eleusis.[4] In his Seventh Nemean Ode, Pindar refers to her as the maid to or seated beside the Moirai (Fates) and responsible for creating offspring. Her son was Sosipolis, who was worshiped at Elis.[5]

Etymology[]

The earliest form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek