Eileithyia (from the Greek Εἰλείθυια, meaning “bringer” or “liberator”) was a Cretan goddess adopted within Greek religion and mythology as a deity of childbirth and labor. She was believed to both send and alleviate the pains experienced by women during childbirth. In Latin, she was known as Eileithyia, while her Roman counterpart was the goddess Lucina (meaning “light-bringer”) and Natio (meaning “birth”).
Etymology and Genealogy
According to various experts, her name lacked an Indo-European etymology, strengthening its connection to the Minoan culture, as argued by R.F. Willets. Willets posited Eileithyia as a proto-goddess in Minoan civilization, and even a Neolithic prototype, whose worship continuity relied on the bloodless concept of her function. Eileithyia, as the goddess of childbirth and a divine aid in that process, seemingly derives from the human midwifery role.
Other theories suggest the name’s Greek origin, stemming from the verb “eleutho” (ελεύθω, meaning “to bring”), hence the goddess being understood as the Bringer. Despite disagreement over its etymology, variants like “Eleuthia” (Cretan) and “Eleuthō” (used by Pindar) imply a likely association with “eleutheria” (freedom). In this context, the term could signify deliverer, with an evident link to childbirth. The oldest form of the name appears in the Greek-Mycenaean language (e-re-u-ti-ja), documented in Linear Script B, syllabically.
Hesiod (c. 700 BC), Apollodorus (c. 180-120 BC), and Diodorus Sicilius (c. 90-27 BC) regarded Eileithyia as the daughter of Zeus and Hera, thus the sister of Hebe and Ares. However, Pausanias (2nd century BC) referenced a more ancient version, now lost. According to him, the Lycian Olenus, considered the earliest poet, composed hymns for the Delphians, including one dedicated to Eileithyia. In this hymn, he refers to the goddess as “The young spinner” (likely identifying her with Destiny) and depicts her as older than Cronus, the youngest child of Gaia and the father of Zeus. Additionally, the meticulous mythologist Pindar (522-443 BC) omits mention of Zeus as Eileithyia’s father:
“Goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, attendant of the throne of the deeply pondering Moirai, daughter of the all-powerful Hera, hear my song.”
According to an ancient hymn ascribed to Olenus, frequently recited in Delos, Eileithyia, despite her proverbial chastity, was the mother of Eros (love). Up to that point, the life-generating entity was considered the fatherless essence of nature. The Eleans also attributed a son to her, as per their tradition, wherein the local deity Sosipolis, protector of the capital, was regarded as the son of Eileithyia.
Attributes and Mitra
In later classical tradition, Eileithyia was strongly associated with the goddesses Artemis and Hera, developing no distinct character of her own. In the Orphic hymn to Proteus, the association with a goddess of childbirth as an epithet of the virgin Artemis, rendering the deadly huntress also “the one who comes to help the women during childbirth,” would be incomprehensible from a strict Olympian point of view.
For the same purpose, Aelian (3rd century BC) mentions an epithet of the hunting goddess: Midwife Artemis. Although both goddesses had very different origins, some shades of their characters were somehow similar: Artemis was known as a protector of youth and tenderness against evil, so she often helped women in childbirth. Although Eileithyia was a divine midwife and daughter of the conjugal goddess, she remained virginal and unmarried in most versions, as was Artemis.
In fact, she punished lack of chastity by intensifying the pains during childbirth. These identical attributes also caused confusion between the attributes of Eileithyia and Hera (protector of the family) and Artemis, in addition to the later lunar deities linked to the latter: Phoebe, Selene, etc. Consequently, they all received the epithet “Ilitia” when referred to because of their woman-protecting attributes. From this comes the usual confusion between Eileithyia and the Moon, for example in the works of Furnutus.
According to Homer, Eileithyia was “the goddess of labor.” The Iliad describes her either as a unique deity, or multiplied as the Eileithyia, daughters of Hera (the goddess of marriage), whom they obeyed, alleviating birth pain. This duality also symbolized the double action of the goddess (assisting with childbirth or vice versa), attributed, respectively, to two different Eileithyias.
The beauty from Duras, a large mosaic from the 4th century BC, depicts a main female figure, probably a depiction of Eileithyia. Vase-painters illustrating the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus often depicted Eileithyia (or two Eileithyias) with raised hands in an epiphany gesture.
There are two versions regarding the birthplace of Eileithyia. Due to Crete becoming the main center of her worship, many writers claim she was born near the island’s capital, Knossos. However, according to Delian tradition, she was born in the northernmost Hyperborean lands, from where she came to Delos only to aid in the birth of Apollo and Artemis. Hence, she was well known among the Hyperboreans, the first people who usually offered compensation to Eileithyia to ensure successful births. The initial visitors from that country (two virgins named Argo and Opis) came to Delos precisely to prepare such a sacrifice for her.
A plea to Eileithyia to facilitate childbirth is prevalent in Greek culture, so she also intervened, alongside the Moirai, in favor of mythical characters such as Evadne (lover of Apollo and mother of Iamus), Coronis (mother of Asclepius), and the mother of Sosigenes (a miraculous intervention, as the father was too old). She, along with Himeros and the Erinyes, also attended the tragic birth of Dionysus, when the full essence of Zeus flashed upon Semele, and the god placed the fetus in his leg to complete the pregnancy.
According to the Homeric hymn to Delian Apollo, Hera detained Eileithyia, who was on her way from the land of the Hyperboreans, to prevent Leto from giving birth to Artemis and Apollo because their father was Zeus. Consequently, Eileithyia remained with her mother on Mount Olympus, unaware of Leto’s predicament. Meanwhile, the other goddesses, awaiting Eileithyia’s arrival in Delos, dispatched Iris to find her, offering a golden necklace as a gift. Seizing the opportunity during Hera’s absence, the divine messenger persuaded Eileithyia with poignant words, and both embarked on a journey to Delos. Upon Eileithyia’s arrival on the island, Leto leaned against a palm tree and gave birth to the two Olympians after nine days of agonizing labor.
Eileithyia also intervened during the birth of Hercules, mediating Hera’s vindictiveness. Hera, Zeus’s wife, instructed Eileithyia to impede the birth of Alcmene, Zeus’s lover, intending either to kill her and the baby or to ensure that Eurystheus, Hera’s chosen heir, would be the firstborn of Perseus’s lineage and thus king of Argoland instead of Heracles. Obediently, Eileithyia positioned herself at Alcmene’s door, crossing her legs and arms to obstruct childbirth. However, Alcmene’s maid, Galintias, cleverly deceived Eileithyia by falsely announcing the baby’s birth.
Startled, Eileithyia stood up, thereby relinquishing her magical hold on Alcmene, who then safely delivered Heracles. Ashamed of being outwitted by a mortal, yet filled with anger, Eileithyia punished Galintias by transforming her into an ever-laughing weasel. According to Antoninus Liberalis, the Moirai accompanied Eileithyia during this task, adding an additional punishment to Galintias: weasels would henceforth give birth through their throats. However, Hecate, taking pity on the faithful servant, adopted the weasel as her sacred animal. In another version, Hero, who later boasted of his successful ploy in Olympus, punished Galintias, leading Zeus to expel Hera’s daughter, Ate, from Mount Olympus.
Eileithyia’s functions likely extended to the animal kingdom and nature, as she is mentioned as aiding fish in spawning and even as a rain bearer.
In Plato’s ideal society, the overseers of childbirth convened precisely in the temple of Eileithyia, symbolizing her functions. Indeed, Eileithyia, according to the epithet Genetiliso, became a goddess of procreation and sexual fulfillment for reproduction purposes, hence her association with Aphrodite and wedding rites. Genetilis, often multiplied in various divinities of the same name, was worshipped alongside Aphrodite at Kolias Hill, twenty stadia from Piraeus, possibly identical to the goddess worshipped by the Phocians in Ionia.
Worship
The cave of Eileithyia, near Amnisos (the port of Knossos), was, according to the Odyssey, Eileithyia’s birthplace and a major center of her worship since the Dorian era. The cave contained stalactites symbolizing the goddess’s dual role in facilitating and delaying childbirth, along with votive offerings, indicating the continuity of her worship from Neolithic times to at least the Roman era. She was likely worshipped there before Zeus’s worship spread to the Aegean Sea and during the Minoan-Mycenaean era. The goddess was mentioned as E-re-u-ti-ja in a Linear B fragment from Knossos.
In the classical era, altars dedicated to Eileithyia existed in the Cretan cities of Lato and Eleutherna, possibly in caves dedicated to her, such as the one in Inatos, possibly alluding to the birth canal. From Crete, her worship spread to Delos and Attica. In Athens, a sanctuary dedicated to her contained three ancient wooden sculptures of the goddess, typically covered up to the feet. According to Pausanias, two sculptures were brought from Crete by Phaedrus, while the third was brought by Eresichthon from Delos, symbolizing the evolution of Eileithyia’s worship. Additionally, Pausanias mentions altars dedicated to her in Tegea and Argos, erected according to legend by Helen upon her brothers’ rescue from Theseus. Particularly notable was the one in Aegion, where the only partially covered sculpture of the goddess depicted her carrying a torch and adorned in lavish attire.
On the Greek mainland, Pausanias describes an archaic altar that he visited in the 2nd century BC in Olympia. It contained an internal subterranean chamber dedicated to the serpent savior of the city (Sosipolis) and to Eileithyia, where a virgin priestess nurtured a serpent, providing it with water and cakes made of hardea and honey. The sanctuary commemorated the appearance of an old woman carrying a baby in her arms during a crucial moment when the Arcadians threatened Elis.
According to legend, the baby was left on the ground between the warring armies and transformed into a winged serpent, whose takeoff terrified the Arcadians before disappearing behind the so-called Cronus Hill, where the temple was constructed. At this location, once a year, Cronus continued to receive worship, conducted by priestesses known as “Queens.” Additionally, in Elyssa, there existed a lavish temple of Eileithyia in the city of Pirgo, constructed by the Pelasgians, but it was looted by Dionysus of Sicily during his expedition to Kyrnus.
From Attica, the worship of Eileithyia spread throughout the entire peninsula. Sanctuaries dedicated to her were established in locations such as Sparta (erected on the counsel of the Oracle of Delphi), Cleitor, Messenia (housing a stone statue of her), Megara, Mycenae, Corinth, Tegea (specifically at the site where Augus gave birth to her son, containing a renowned sculpture depicting Augus on her knees), and Hermione, among others.
Eileithyia, often depicted alongside Artemis and Persephone, was frequently portrayed carrying torches, symbolizing the transition of children from darkness into the world of light (or perhaps the pains of childbirth). Hence, her Roman equivalent was named Lucina, meaning “luminous.” In Greek sanctuaries, small terracotta votive figures (known as kourotrophos) represented an eternal nurse caring for divine children, possibly identified with Eileithyia.
To alleviate pain during childbirth, women often dedicated horns to her as part of a ceremonial sacrifice, with a calf promised to Eileithyia in gratitude for a successful birth. According to Aelian, mongooses were sacred animals associated with Eileithyia and Leto, and they were worshipped at Herakleopolis (Egypt).
Elionia, a deity worshipped in Argos, was identified by Plutarch as a goddess of childbirth, likely an epithet of Eileithyia. Additional epithets included Genedasa (“generation”), Lusizon, and Inatio (possibly meaning “sister-in-law”).
Ilithius, Father of Jasius
In addition to the figure previously described, Eileithyia or Ilithyios was also the name of another character in Hellenic mythology. According to Hyginus, he was the father, along with the Pleiad Electra, of the agricultural hero Jasius, although most versions attribute his paternity to Zeus.