Today for #MythologyMonday -- shall we discuss those times when Hera "punished" Zeus by prolonging labor of his lovers???

One time, she delayed Alcmene's birth of Hercules so that Hercules couldn't be a king/fulfill a prophecy (and yes, Disney did lie to you, Hera was not Herc's loving mother/stepmother)

Another time, Hera forbid anyone from giving shelter/aid to the pregnant Leto and delayed her birth of Artemis and Apollo

YIKES!

#GreekMythology #GreekMyth #mythology #birth #Childbirth

In one house in Goslar, a ghost stalks woman who have recently given birth.

#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Woman_in_Childbed

The Woman in Childbed

Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles Wiki
#MythologyMonday #Celtic: `Brigid embodies the concept of midwifery and birthing as she is protector of the newly born ewes and protector of the newly born ideas of the bards. She is a source of inspiration, represented by a flame or a brightness that burns through the bitter-cold nights of winter.` #Celtic
Source: Helen Benigni/Barbara Carter/Eadhmonn Ua Cuinn „The Myth of the Year“

A woman from Kippenheim once gave birth with a snake wrapped around the newborn child.

#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Snake%27s_Salvation

The Snake's Salvation

Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles Wiki
#MythologyMonday #Celtic: `Nessa dutifully sat on a flat stone as she was bid by her husband, the #druid Cathbad, and held in all night the child which was ripping her apart to get out. The next morning, she popped out a son she named #Conchobar, after the river he was born beside. Which he fell into as he was born, apparently. Or maybe the power of water birth was well known to our ancient female ancestors. Conchobar went on to be the famous King of #Ulster around whom the tales of the Ulster Cycle revolve.
This was the same Nessa who prior to her pregnancy, single-handedly as a woman raised a war-band of 27 warriors and took off after her father’s murderers with them, intent on revenge and killing.` #Celtic
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack

In Greek mythology, newborn gods are very precocious. When Hermes was only a day old, he stole the cattle of his brother Apollo. Furthermore, since Artemis was born a few minutes before her twin brother Apollo, she was able to assist her mother Leto with Apollo's birth.
🎨 William Henry Rinehart

#MythologyMonday #Mythology #Folklore #Greece #Hermes #Art #Statue

Many spirits need the assistance of a human midwife if their own wives go into childbirth.

#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Man_of_the_Ocean_Ekke_Nekkepenn

The Man of the Ocean Ekke Nekkepenn

Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles Wiki
Demonic Lilith was said to be the first wife of Adam. She refused to lie beneath him, cursed him and fled to couple with demons and give birth to 100 daughters - lilim -a day. Later misogynistic myths told of Lilith possessing women by entering them through mirrors... #MythologyMonday 🎨Rosetti

A couple in Buttstädt were so desperate for a child that they made a deal with the Devil - if they would give birth to one, he would receive the child!

#MythologyMonday
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/A_Child_Weighs_Heavier_than_the_Devil

A Child Weighs Heavier than the Devil

Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles Wiki

In the last poem of the Kalevala, Marjatta is impregnated by a lingonberry and gives birth to a male child, who becomes the new ruler following Väinämöinen. The story symbolises the arrival of Christianity, which superseded the world of ancient Finnish beliefs.

#MythologyMonday

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, the much-maligned Hera is the goddess of women, of mothers, and particularly of mothers while pregnant and in childbirth. She maintains the family, in spite of everything, and protects it. #MythologyMonday