A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter E

Eileithyia

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Greek goddess who presides over childbirth and midwifery, aiding women in labor as daughter of Zeus and Hera.

Detailed Definition
Ilithyia is the Roman-influenced spelling of Eileithyia, retaining her role as divine midwife and controller of birth. She appears in Homeric and later texts. Poets use Ilithyia to symbolize the threshold of life, maternal suffering, and divine timing in hymnal, tragic, and ritual poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth, appears in Homer and Hesiod; Poets invoke Eileithyia to bless or curse labor; In Homeric Hymn 25, she eases Leto’s birth of Apollo—ideal for divine midwifery; “Eileithyia’s hands” might describe safe delivery; She embodies the peril and promise of new life.

Ilithyia, alternate spelling of Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth); Examples identical to 16576: Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth, appears in Homer and Hesiod; Poets invoke Ilithyia to bless or curse labor; In Homeric Hymn 25, she eases Leto’s birth of Apollo—ideal for divine midwifery; “Ilithyia’s hands” might describe safe delivery; She embodies the peril and promise of new life.
Additional Notes
Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth, is invoked in labor—her presence eases or delays birth per Hera’s will (e.g., in Leto’s labor). Hesiod names her Zeus and Hera’s daughter; cults existed in Crete and Argos. Poets call on her in birth scenes or laments for stillbirth—her dual power reflects the peril and hope of delivery, central to female experience in ancient narrative.

Ilithyia is an alternate spelling of Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth—used in Homeric and Cretan contexts. The variation reflects regional dialects (e.g., Linear B tablets). No functional difference exists; both refer to the same deity. Poets may choose spelling for metrical or archaic effect, but meaning remains consistent: divine midwifery and the perils of labor.
Also Known As
Eilithyia Ilithyia
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