From the ancient Greek language, Gaia is “land”. She is considered the daughter of Ether and Hemera, the mother of everything living and growing on her. Sometimes this ancient Greek goddess is called Chthonia. She gave birth to many creatures, among which were the titans, giants and other monsters.
Gaia in mythology
Gaia is a powerful goddess in ancient Greek mythology that personified the earth. It arose after Chaos and spawned everything - heaven, mountains, seas, gods, people. At the same time, she was the sister of Uranus (Heaven) and Tartarus (lord of the abyss in the underworld). Together with them, she gave birth to many children, which will be discussed later. According to another version, Gaia gave birth to Uranus, and after his accession to the world she became a companion and created for him twelve descendants: titans, three giants with one eye, three giants with five heads and a hundred hands.
Mother loved her children very much, unlike Uranus. One day, Gaia called on the titans to rebel against his father and strip him of power. So they could become free and leave the abyss. Kronos decided to do this, who proclaimed himself the ruler of the world.
Using the blood of mutilated Uranus, the goddess gave birth to powerful giants who are known for their war with the Olympic gods. After the defeat of the giants, Zeus imprisoned them in Tartarus. There is a myth that Hercules helped defeat the giants of the Olympic gods.
Gaia came together with Tartarus to give birth to Typhon - a terrible monster with dragon heads, which was supposed to defeat Zeus. But Typhon was overthrown and sent to Tartarus.
All ideas about the goddess are gleaned mainly from the works of Homer, the Iliad, Odyssey, and Theogony of Hesiod.
Goddess Appearance
What did the goddess of the land of Gaia look like in the view of the ancient Greeks? There are not many images of the goddess. This is due to the fact that no temples were built in her honor, only in rare cases altars were created. She was portrayed as a woman with a magnificent appearance.
Similarity with other cultures
In Roman mythology, which is largely similar to ancient Greek, there was its own Gaia - this is Tellus. It was a land giving life. At the same time, Tellus was also a grave for everything that lost life. It can also be compared with the ancient Greek Demeter, who was responsible for fertility and agriculture.
In Slavic mythology, it was Mother Earth Cheese. It is believed that she was the wife of Heaven (Thunderer), who covered the Earth with moisture (rain), as a result of which she gave a crop.
Goddess Companions
Since its inception, the Greek goddess of the land of Gaia has given birth to all living things. She had many sons from different gods.
Companions of Gaia, who became the fathers of her children:
- Ether is the deity of the upper layer of the sky in which other gods lived. He is considered the son of underground darkness and night darkness. Partners created the Pontus, which in mythology personified the inland sea. Some sources indicate that Gaia created Pont on her own.
- Pontus is a deity of the pre-Olympic period. With him, the goddess gave birth to Tavmant (the god of sea monsters), Forkis (the god of miracles and the stormy sea), Keto (the goddess of the deep sea), Nereus (the god of the water element), Euribia (the goddess of the sea power).
- Uranus is the personification of the sky.
- Tartarus is the deepest abyss, which is located under the world of Hades. Together with the goddess, they created the giants Typhon (the giant personifying the fiery power of the earth), Python (dragon), Dolphin (half-female half-beast).
- Hephaestus - the personification of fire, the patron saint of blacksmiths.
- Poseidon is a god who ruled the seas, earthquakes and was engaged in horse breeding. Together with Zeus and Hades is considered one of the main Olympians. Together with Gaia, he became the father of Antei - a giant who replenished his strength from contact with the earth. He was king and offered a battle to all strangers, at the end of which he killed the loser. From the skulls of the vanquished, he built a temple for his father. Once he was defeated and killed by Hercules, who in the struggle lifted Antei up above the ground and broke his spine.
Different sources interpret marital relations between the listed heroes in different ways, therefore, other variants of their relationship are possible.
Descendants of Gay and Uranus
Gaia is not just the goddess of the earth, she has become the mother of everything. She had many children, some of them she gave birth to together with Uranus.
Joint children:
- Hekatonheyrs - giant brothers, who had a hundred hands. Their names were Briaria, Cott, Gies. It was them who were afraid of their father, and therefore chained them soon after birth in the bowels of the earth.
- Cyclops are one-eyed giant brothers with the names Arg (Shining), Bronte (Thundering), Sterope (Shining). At first, their father bound and threw them into Tartarus, and later Kronos did the same with them.
- The Titans are twelve gods, six feminine and masculine. They married each other and created a new generation of gods, such as Prometheus, Summer and others. The youngest of his sons, Kronos, overthrew his father, and later, along with his sister Ray, gave birth to Zeus.
- The Erinis were born of the earth from the blood of Uranus, were the goddesses of revenge. Their number varies depending on the source. They chased criminals, plunging them into insanity.
Descendants of Gay and Hephaestus
Sons of the goddess Gaia and Hephaestus:
- Cecrops is the hero and founder of Attica. He was represented as a man with a serpentine body without legs. It is believed that he established a marriage between men and women.
- Erichtonius is the king of Athens (son of the goddess of the land of Gaia), who was born when Hephaestus spilled his seed, and it fell into the ground. Like Cecrops, he had the body of a snake. He was raised by Athena in her temple.
In mythology there are also the children of Gaia, whom she created independently, for example, the giant Argus.