What is Eileithyia?
'''Eileithyia''' ({{IPAc-en|ɪ|l|ᵻ|ˈ|θ|aɪ|.|ə}}; {{lang-el|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 (mythology)|Lucina]]. In the myth of [[Herakles]], [[Zeus]], king of the gods on [[Olympus|Mount Olympus]] fathers a child with the [[Mycenae|Mycaenean]] princess and granddaughter of [[Perseus]], [[Alkmene|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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Miate|first=Liana|title=Eileithyia|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Eileithyia/|access-date=2024-04-15|website=World History Encyclopedia|language=en}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} {{religion-stub}} [[Category:Greek gods and goddesses]]