Eileithyia – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
Eileithyia
Eileithyia
[Greek] According Homer Eileithyia was the goddess of birth-pain, but Homer was often thinking about a few Eileithyiai, the daughters of Hera. Also Hesiod presented Eileithyia as the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hera, but Artemis too were sometimes taking a role of this goddess and her title. Pausanias is describing two versions about the deity's origin. (1) In the first story Eleithyia came from the Hyperboreans (from the legendary north) to Delos to help Leto, when she was giving birth to Artemis and Apollo. In the second case Eileithyia was born in a Cretan cave at Amnisos. There was a strong cult of the goddess Eileithyia in Crete, especially in the cities Lato and Eleutherna. The goddess is mentioned in Linear script B from Knossos as Eleuthia, which is a dialect form of her name, variously written in Greek language.(2) The offerings of different sorts found from her caves at Amnisos and at Inatos confirm that her cult was very popular in Crete. One stalagmite in Amnisos cave was...
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Ilithyia
Ilithyia (Latin) Eileithyia (Greek) [from Greek erchymai to come, come back] She who comes to aid women who are in travail; Greek goddess of childbirth, daughter of Zeus and Hera. Essentially a lunar divinity, her generative functions are often adopted by other divinities, such as Hera, Artemis, Juno, Lucina, and Diana. She was worshiped especially at Crete and Delos, though sanctuaries and statues were dedicated to her in many places.
