Eileithyia

Eileithyia is the goddess who presides over childbirth, daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hesiod's Theogony names her among the children born to the divine couple, alongside Ares and Hebe. Homer's epics show what her power means in practice: in the Iliad, Hera deliberately holds Eileithyia back on Olympus to delay the birth of Heracles and let a rival child be born first, and in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Leto cannot give birth to Apollo at all until the other goddesses persuade Eileithyia to leave Olympus and come to Delos.

By Mythographia Editorial Team Reviewed by Mythographia Editorial Team Updated 2026-09-08

Core Myth

Hesiod's Theogony lists Eileithyia among the children Hera bore to Zeus, alongside Ares and Hebe, giving her an Olympian pedigree but no myth of her own in that poem. Homer's epics supply the myths instead, and both surviving examples turn on the same idea: that Eileithyia's presence is what allows a birth to happen at all. In the Iliad, Hera tricks Zeus into swearing an oath that whichever of his descendants is born that day will rule over the others, then rushes to Argos and has Eileithyia hold back the birth pangs of Heracles's mother Alcmene while hastening the premature delivery of Eurystheus, robbing Heracles of the kingship Zeus had intended for him. In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, the same power appears from the laboring mother's side: Leto suffers through nine days and nights of labor pains on Delos because Hera has detained Eileithyia on Olympus, and Apollo is born only once the other goddesses send Iris to bring her down to the island.

Who are Eileithyia's parents?

Zeus and Hera. Hesiod's Theogony names her among the children Hera bore to Zeus, alongside Ares, the war god, and Hebe, the goddess of youth.

Hesiod, Theogony 921-923

What happened when Hera used Eileithyia against Heracles?

Hera tricked Zeus into swearing that whichever of his descendants was born that day would rule over the others, then rushed to Argos and had Eileithyia delay the birth pangs of Heracles's mother Alcmene while hastening the premature delivery of a rival child, Eurystheus - costing Heracles the kingship Zeus had intended for him.

Homer, Iliad 19.95-133

Why couldn't Leto give birth to Apollo right away?

Because Hera, jealous, kept Eileithyia detained on Olympus and ignorant of Leto's labor. Leto suffered through nine days and nights of pain on the island of Delos until the other goddesses sent Iris to bring Eileithyia down from Olympus, and only then was Apollo born.

Homeric Hymn to Apollo 89-101

Is there only one Eileithyia?

Not necessarily. Homer's Iliad refers to the Eileithyiai in the plural during the account of Heracles's delayed birth, suggesting Greek belief sometimes treated childbirth as governed by several such goddesses rather than a single one.

Homer, Iliad 19.95-133

Where was Eileithyia worshipped?

Among her sanctuaries, Homer's Odyssey names a cave at Amnisos on Crete, near Knossos, as a place sacred to Eileithyia - one of the oldest sites of her cult and the kind of location women seeking a safe delivery would have approached directly.

Homer, Odyssey 19.188

Later Traditions

Ancient cult often multiplied Eileithyia into several goddesses of the same name and function rather than one - Homer's Iliad refers to the Eileithyiai in the plural during the Heracles episode - and her sanctuaries, including a notably old one on Crete at Amnisos mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, were approached specifically by women seeking a safe delivery. No later tradition gives her children or a consort of her own; her role stays fixed as an assistant at other figures' most consequential births rather than a source of stories about herself.

Lineage

See the full family tree

4 recorded relations, each with the ancient line behind it.

Parents

Hera Hesiod, Theogony 921-923
Hesiod's Theogony lists Eileithyia alongside Ares and Hebe among Hera's offspring by Zeus.
Zeus Hesiod, Theogony 921-923
Hesiod's Theogony lists Eileithyia alongside Ares and Hebe in the same short genealogical passage.

Siblings

Ares Hesiod, Theogony 921-923
Hesiod names both among Hera's own offspring in the same short passage of the Theogony.
Hebe Hesiod, Theogony 921-924
Hera bears Hebe, Ares, and Eileithyia to Zeus in the same passage of the Theogony.

Also Connected

2 recorded connections, each with the ancient line behind it.

Connected

Heracles Homer, Iliad 19.95-133
Hera has Eileithyia delay Heracles's birth so a rival cousin is born first and takes the kingship instead.
Leto Homeric Hymn to Apollo 89-101
Hera detains Eileithyia to delay Leto's labor on Delos until Apollo can finally be born.