Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eileithyia (/ɪlɪˈθaɪ.ə/; Greek: Εἰλείθυια) was the goddess of childbirth and midwifery in Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the gods. While she is not a prominent deity in Ancient Greek religion, Eileithyia does feature in a number of myths. Her Roman counterpart was Lucina.
In the myth of Herakles, Zeus, king of the gods on Mount Olympus fathers a child with the Mycaenean princess and granddaughter of Perseus, Alcmene. Hera, wife of Zeus and queen of Olympus, is enraged at the illegitimate child, Herakles that comes from the union, sending Eileithyia to prevent Alcmene from giving birth, so Heracles's cousin Eurystheus becomes high king in his place.[1]
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