From the ancient Greek language, Gaia is "earth". 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 titans, giants and other monsters.
Gaia in mythology
Gaia is a powerful goddess in ancient Greek mythology who personified the earth. It arose after Chaos and gave birth to everything - the sky, 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 twelve descendants for him: 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 rise up against her father and deprive him of power. So they could become free and come out of the abyss. Kronos decided to do this, who proclaimed himselfruler of the world.
Using the blood of the mutilated Uranus, the goddess gave birth to powerful giants who are known for their war with the Olympian gods. After the defeat of the giants, Zeus imprisoned them in Tartarus. There is a myth that Hercules helped the Olympian gods to defeat the giants.
Gaia met with Tartarus to give birth to Typhon - a terrible monster with dragon heads, who was supposed to defeat Zeus. But Typhon was also cast down and sent to Tartarus.
All ideas about the goddess are taken mainly from the works of Homer's "Iliad", "Odyssey" and "Theogony" by Hesiod.
Goddess appearance
How did the goddess of the earth Gaia look like in the view of the ancient Greeks? Not many images of the goddess are known. This is due to the fact that no temples were built in her honor, only in rare cases were altars created. She was depicted as a woman with a majestic appearance.
Similarities to other cultures
In Roman mythology, which is in many ways similar to ancient Greek, there was its own Gaia - this is Tellus. She represented the land that gives life. At the same time, Tellus was also a grave for everything that lost its life. She can also be compared to the ancient Greek Demeter, who was responsible for fertility and agriculture.
In Slavic mythology, it was Mother - Cheese Earth. It is believed that she was the wife of Heaven (Thunder), who covered the Earth with moisture (rain), as a result of which she gave a harvest.
Companions of the Goddess
Since her appearance, the Greek goddess of the earth, Gaia, has given birth to all life. Atshe had many sons from different gods.
Gaia's companions who fathered 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. The partners created Pontus, which in mythology personified the inland sea. Some sources indicate that Gaia created Pontus on her own.
- Pont is a deity of the pre-Olympic period. With him, the goddess gave birth to Thaumant (god of sea monsters), Phorkis (god of miracles and stormy sea), Keto (goddess of the deep sea), Nereus (god of the water element), Eurybia (goddess of sea power).
- Uranus is the personification of the sky.
- Tartar is the deepest abyss, which is located under the world of Hades. Together with the goddess, they created the giants Typhon (a giant personifying the fiery power of the earth), Python (dragon), Dolphin (half-woman, half-beast).
- Hephaestus is the personification of fire, the patron of blacksmiths.
- Poseidon is the god who controlled the seas, earthquakes and was engaged in horse breeding. Together with Zeus and Hades, he is considered one of the main Olympians. Together with Gaia, he became the father of Antey, a giant who replenished his strength from contact with the earth. He was a king and offered a battle to all foreigners, at the end of which he killed the loser. From the skulls of the vanquished, he built a temple to his father. Once he was defeated and killed by Hercules, who in the struggle raised Antaeus above the ground and broke his back.
Different sources interpret marital relations between the listed characters in different ways, so other variants of their relationship are possible.
Descendants of Gaia andUranus
Gaia is not just the goddess of the earth, she became the mother of everything. She had many children, some of them she gave birth to with Uranus.
Joint children:
Hecatoncheirs - giant brothers who had a hundred hands. Their names were Briareus, Kott, Gies. It was them that their father was afraid of, and therefore chained them shortly after birth in the bowels of the earth
Cyclopes are one-eyed giant brothers with the names Arg (Shining), Bront (Thunder), Sterop (Sparkling). At first, their father bound them and threw them into Tartarus, and later Kronos did the same with them
- Titans - twelve gods, six male and female. They intermarried and created a new generation of gods such as Prometheus, Leto and others. The youngest of the sons, Kronos, overthrew his father, and later, together with his sister Rhea, gave birth to Zeus.
- Erinyes were born from the blood of Uranus, were the goddesses of revenge. Their number varies depending on the source. They pursued criminals, driving them into madness.
Descendants of Gaia and Hephaestus
Sons of Goddess Gaia and Hephaestus:
- Kekrops is the hero and founder of Attica. He was represented as a man with a snake body without legs. It is believed that he established marriage between men and women.
- Erichthonius is an Athenian king (son of the earth goddess Gaia), who was born when Hephaestus spilled his seed and it fell into the earth. Just like Kekrops, he had the body of a snake. He was raised by Athena in her temple.
There are also children of Gaia in mythology, whom she created on her own, for example, the giant Argus.
