What child-devouring monster was a lover of Zeus?

Lamia was the child-devouring monster who became a lover of Zeus in Greek mythology.

In the oldest surviving versions, Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya who had an affair with Zeus and bore him children. Hera, Zeus’s wife, punished her by taking away or killing her children, or by compelling Lamia to destroy them, depending on the version. Driven mad by grief, Lamia began hunting and devouring other people’s children.

Myths also explain her strange eyes. Hera was said to have deprived Lamia of sleep, leaving her eternally awake and tormented, while Zeus gave her removable eyes or the ability to take them out and replace them. These details helped make her a terrifying figure in ancient storytelling.

Lamia later became a general name for child-eating bogeymen and night-haunting spirits. In later Greek and Roman tales, lamiae could also appear as seductive, serpent-like beings who preyed on young men. She is therefore distinct from Medusa, Echidna, and Empusa, although later traditions sometimes blurred these supernatural figures together.