Daeira or Daira was the daughter of the Titan Oceanus. She had three thousand sisters, who were collectively known as the Oceanids. Her name means “The Knowing One” or “Teacher” from the Greek verb daô. Daeira was the mother of Eleusis, the eponymous hero of the town of Eleusis. His father was Hermes, the messenger of the gods, or Ogygus, the king of Attica. Clement of Alexandria claimed that Daeira gave birth to Immarados by Eumolpus, while Aristophanes said that Daeira was the mother of Semele, the mother of Dionysus by Zeus. The myths associated with Daeira are an endless source of chaos. Aeschylus identified Daeira with Persephone, but other sources said she was Persephone's nurse or gaoler. 

The confusion grows even more when we consider traditions according to which Daeira was identical with Demeter, Hera, Aphrodite, or Hekate. Others asserted that she was Pluto's sister and guarded Kore in the underworld. Finally, she was also described as an “enemy of Demeter”. The priestess of Demeter was required to stay away from the rites of Daeira in Eleusis. The same may have applied to daeirites, a minor religious official attested by the Greek scholar and rhetorician Pollux. Nevertheless, at least two Attic demes made offerings to her in an Eleusinian context (a pregnant sheep and a lamb). The confusion over Daeira’s role and nature may be attributed to the secret nature of the rites or the nonchalance with which ancient writers approached such minor deities.