Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Eileithyia
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Quizzes
Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece.
From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology
mythology. Greek. Hermes. (Roman Mercury)
A Study of Greek and Roman Mythology
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Eileithyia

Greek mythology
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Eileithyia, pre-Hellenic goddess of childbirth, who hindered or facilitated the process according to her disposition. She is mentioned in several Linear B tablets from ancient Crete. The next earliest evidence for her cult is at Amnisus, in Crete, where excavations indicate that she was worshipped continuously from Neolithic to Roman times. In Homer’s writings she appears, sometimes in the plural, as a personification of birth pangs and is described as the daughter of Hera, the consort of Zeus. In later times Eileithyia tended to be identified with Hera or Artemis, goddesses who were also associated with marriage and childbirth.