This article is about the primordial Greek goddess. For the theory of Earth as an organism, seeGaia hypothesis. For other uses, seeGaia (disambiguation).
The Greeks invoked Gaia in their oaths, and she should be aware if one broke his oath. In theHomeric poems she appears usually in forms of oath. In theIliad, the sacrifice of a black lamb is offered to Gaia and she is invoked in the formula of an oath.[11][12] Homer considers her a physical distinct existence not clearly conceived in anthropomorphic form. Gaia does not seem to have any personal activity. In theIliad, Alpheia beats with her hands the bountiful ("polyphorbos") earth, but she callsHades andPersephone to avenge her against her son.[13] In the poems of Hesiod, she is personified. Gaia has a significant role in the evolution of the world.[14] She is the nurse of Zeus, and she has the epithet "Kourotrophos".Kourotrophos was the name of an old goddess who was subordinate to Ge.Dieterich believed thatKourotrophos andPotnia theron construct precisely the mother goddess. Ge is also personified in the myths ofErichthonius andPluto.[15] Erichthonius is early mentioned in theCatalogue of ships. He is born by the Homeric earth which produces fruits and cereals (zeidorosarura). The name of Erichthonius includeschthon which is not the underground kingdom of the dead, but the Homeric earth.[16][17][18]
In ancient times, the earth was considered a plane or a flat disk with a wide extent.[12] The earth-goddess can be identified with the nymph "Plataia" (broad one) inPlataea ofBoeotia as the spouse of Zeus.[19]Homer uses the form "eureiachthon" (broad earth).Hesiod speaks for the broad-breasted earth, ("eurysternos") the sure seat of all immortals.[20] The same epithet appears in her cults atDelphi andAegae in Achaea. In the Homeric hymn her conception is more clear and detailed. She is the Mother of the Gods, the goddess that brings forth life and blesses men with children. She is called "pammе̄tōr", the all-mother who nourishes everything. This conception is closer to the popular belief.[21][12] In the hymn toApollo she is called "pheresvios" (life giving)[22] The "mother of the gods" is a form of Gaia. According to Pausanias an epithet of Ge in Athens is "the Great goddess", which is an appellation of the "Mother of the gods". She is related to the mystery cult ofPhlya which seems to be original. AtAthens Gaia had the cult-titleThemis. In theAshmolean Museum, a vase showsPandora (all-giving) rising from the earth and according to some scholars she may be identified with Gaia. "Anesidora" (sending up gifts) on a vase in theBritish Museum is an epithet of Gaia.[23][24]
Traditionally "gaia" means "earth" andchthon, "under or "beneath the earth" howeverchthon has occasionally the same meaning with the earth.Pherecydes uses the nameChthonie for the primeval goddess who later became Ge andMusaeus the same name for the oracular goddess of Delphi.[19] Homer uses the for chthon the epithets "euryodeia" (broad-seated) and "polyvoteira" (all-nourishing) which can also be used for the earth.[20] In some plays ofAeschylus"chthon" is the earth-goddess Gaia.[19][25][26]
The tragic poets usually describe Gaia as mother of all, all-nourishing and all-productive who must be honoured. In Aeschylus'Prometheus Unbound, Gaia is the mother mother of all ("pammetor") and in a fragment ofEuripideschthon has the same epithet.[27] InPersai of Aeschylus, offerings are recommended to Ge and the spirit of the departed. She is called "pamphoros", (all bearing).[20][28] InChoephori,Electra in her prayer describes Gaia as an avenger of wrong.[29]Sophocles inPhiloctetes calls Gaia "pamvōtis" (all nourishing)[20][30] A famous fragment ofDanaides describes the sacred marriage between heaven and earth. Ouranos and Gaia are cosmic powers and natural processes.[31] InChrysippus of Euripides, Gaia is the mother of all in a philosophical poetic thought. "Gaia receives the drops of rain bearing the mortals and bearing food and beasts, therefore she is rightly called "mother of all".Aether of Zeus bears men and gods. Everything which is born by the earth returns to the earth, and everything born from aether returns to the sky. Nothing is destroyed, but it is transformed to another form.".[32][29] An inscription on a gravestone in Potidaia mentions: " Aether receives the souls and "chthon" receives the bodies". According to Plutarch: " The name of Ge is beloved to every Greek and she is traditionally honoured like any other god":[29]
Hesiod'sTheogony tells how, afterChaos, "wide-bosomed" Gaia (Earth) arose to be the everlasting seat of theimmortals who possess Olympus above.[33] And after Gaia came "dimTartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth", and nextEros the god of love.[34] Hesiod goes on to say that Gaia brought forth her equalUranus (Heaven, Sky) to "cover her on every side".[35] Gaia also bore theOurea (Mountains), andPontus (Sea), "without sweet union of love" (i.e., with no father).[36]
Afterward, with Uranus, her son, she gave birth to theTitans, as Hesiod tells it:
According to Hesiod, Gaia conceived further offspring with her son, Uranus, first the giant one-eyedCyclopes: Brontes ("Thunder"), Steropes ("Lightning"), andArges ("Bright");[38] then theHecatonchires: Cottus, Briareos, and Gyges, each with a hundred arms and fifty heads.[39] As each of the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires were born, Uranus hid them in a secret place within Gaia, causing her great pain. So Gaia devised a plan. She created a grey flint (oradamantine) sickle. And Cronus used the sickle to castrate his father Uranus as he approached his mother, Gaia, to have sex with her. From Uranus' spilled blood, Gaia produced theErinyes, theGiants, and theMeliae (ash-tree nymphs). From the testicles of Uranus in the sea came forthAphrodite.[40]
Because Cronus had learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his children, he swallowed each of the children born to him by his Titan older sister, Rhea. But when Rhea was pregnant with her youngest child,Zeus, she sought help from Gaia and Uranus. When Zeus was born, Rhea gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling-clothes in his place, which Cronus swallowed, and Gaia took the child into her care.[42]
With the help of Gaia's advice,[43] Zeus defeated the Titans. But afterwards, Gaia, in union withTartarus, bore the youngest of her sonsTyphon, who would be the last challenge to the authority of Zeus.[44]
According to the Roman mythographerHyginus,Terra (Earth, the Roman equivalent of Gaia),Caelus (Sky, the Roman equivalent of Uranus) and Mare (Sea) are the children ofAether andDies (Day, the Roman equivalent ofHemera).[45] With Aether, Terra produces Dolor (Pain), Dolus (Deception), Ira (Anger), Luctus (Mourning), Mendacium (Lying), Iusiurandum (Oath), Vltio (Vengeance), Intemperantia (Self-indulgence), Altercatio (Quarreling), Oblivio (Forgetfulness), Socordia (Sloth), Timor (Fear), Superbia (Arrogance), Incestum (Incest), Pugna (Fighting), Oceanus (Ocean), Themis, Tartarus, Pontus, the Titans, Briareus, Gyges, Steropes, Atlas, Hyperion, Polus,Saturn,Ops,Moneta, Dione, and theFuries (Alecto,Megaera, andTisiphone).[46] By Tartarus, Terra then becomes the mother of the Giants, which are listed asEnceladus, Coeus,Ophion,Astraeus, Pelorus, Pallas, Emphytus, Rhoecus, Ienios, Agrius, Palaemon,Ephialtes, Eurytus, Theomises, Theodamas, Otos, Typhon, Polybotes, Menephiarus, Abseus, Colophomus, and Iapetus.[47] According to the mythographerApollodorus, however, Gaia and Tartarus were the parents ofEchidna.[48]
The godHephaestus once attempted to rapeAthena, but she pushed him away, causing him to ejaculate on her thigh. Athena wiped off the semen and threw it on the ground, which impregnated Gaia. Gaia then gave birth toErichthonius of Athens, whom Athena adopted as her own child.[49]
Nonnus describes a similar myth, in whichAphrodite fled from her lustful fatherZeus, who was infatuated with her. As Zeus was unable to catch Aphrodite, he gave up and dropped his semen on the ground, which impregnated Gaia. This resulted in the birth of theCyprianCentaurs.[50]
Gaia resented the way Zeus had treated her children, theTitans, so she brought forth theGigantes to fight Zeus. It was prophesied that the Gigantes, who were born from Uranus's blood, could not be killed by the gods alone, but they could be killed with the help of a mortal. Hearing this, Gaia sought for a certain plant that would protect the Gigantes even from mortals. Before Gaia or anyone else could get it, Zeus forbadeEos (Dawn),Selene (Moon) andHelios (Sun) to shine, harvested all of the plant himself, and hadAthena summon the mortalHeracles, who assisted the Olympians in defeating the Gigantes.[51]
According toHesiod, in his lost poemAstronomia,[52]Orion, while hunting withArtemis and her motherLeto, claimed that he would kill every animal on earth. Gaia, angered by his boasting, sent a giant scorpion to kill him, and after his death, he and the scorpion were placed among the stars by Zeus.[53] According toOvid, Gaia for some reason sent the scorpion to kill Leto instead, and Orion was killed trying to protect her.[54]
WhenBoreas, the god of the north wind, killedPitys, an Oreadnymph, for rejecting his advances and preferringPan over him, Gaia pitied the dead girl and transformed her into a pine tree.[55]
According to little-known myth,Elaea was an accomplished athlete from Attica who was killed by her fellow athletes, because they had grown envious of her and her skills; but Gaia turned her into an olive tree as a reward, for Athena's sake.[56] Gaia also turned the youngLibanus into rosemary when he was killed by impious people.[57]
Zeus hidElara, one of his lovers, fromHera by stowing her under the earth. His son by Elara, the giantTityos, is therefore sometimes said to be a son of Gaia, the earth goddess.[58]
It seems that the worship of the "earth" was indigenous in Greece.[60] However it is doubtful if the mother-religion is rooted to the Pre-Greek population.[61] In classical times Ge was not an important deity and she didn't have any festivals. She was usually honoured together with other gods or goddesses.[12] Local cults of Gaia are rare and only some of them can be mentioned from the existing evidence.
Elements of a primitive cult of Gaia appear atDodona in Epirus. It seems that in an old religion the earth goddess was worshipped together with the sky-god (Zeus).[62] At Thebes there was cult of "Gaia Makaira Telesforos". Telesforos means "bringing fruits to perfection".[63] The earth goddess had powers over the ghosts and the dreams which come from the underworld, therefore she acquired oracular powers. These conceptions are evident in her cults atDelphi,Athens andAigai of Achaea. An inscription "ieron eurysternou" (sunctuary of the broad-bossomed), is mentioned at Delphi byMnaseas.[64] A temple of Ge was built to the south of the temple ofApollo. "Eutysternos" is a surname of Ge and it had an earlier use by Hesiod. It was also given to her in her worship at the Achaean Aegai.[64]
InEumenides, the priestess announced her first prayers to "Gaia the first prophetess". At Aegai there was a very old image of the earth-goddess, and the service was in the hands of a virgin woman. The serpent represented the earth deity and was related to thechthonic oracular cult. This is evident at Delphi. Traditionally the oracle belonged originally toPoseidon and Ge and the serpentPython represents the earth spirit. Ge was probably present at the oracle ofTrophonius atLivadeia.[64] The prophecies were usually given by the priestesses and not by the goddess. AtOlympia her altar was called "Gaios". The altars were given the name of a deity in primitive stages of religion. At Olympia like in Dodona it seems that she was honoured together with the sky-godZeus. At Aigai she had an oracular power. According to Pliny the priestess drank a small quantity of the blood of a bull before entering the secret cave. AtPatras in the oracle of "Ge", a sacred well was used for predicting the cause of diseases.[65] At Athens Ge acquired the cult-titleThemis. Themis was an oracular goddess related to Ge and she was not originally interpreted as goddess of righteousness.[65]
The cult of Gaia was probably indigenous in Attica. In the cult ofPhlya, Pausanias reports that there were altars to Dionysos, certain nymphs and to Ge, whom they called the "great goddess". The Great goddess is interpreted as "Mother of the gods" who is a form of Gaia. It seems that a mystery-cult was related to the Great-goddess.[66] An inscription on the Acropolis of Athens refers to the practice of service in honour of "Ge-Karpophoros" (bringer of fruits) in accordance with the oracle. The oracle was probably Delphic. A sanctuary on the Acropolis was the "Kourotrophion", and the earlier inscriptions mentions simply "The Kourotrophos" (nourisher of children). Pausanias mentions a double shrine of "Ge-Kourotrophos" and "Demeter-Chloe" on the Acropolis.[67][68] Near theOlympieion of Athens there was the temenos of Ge-Olympia.Thucydides mentions that it was among the oldest sanctuaries built in Athens, where theDeucalion flood took place.[69] Achthonic ritual was performed in Athens in honour of Ge. The Genesia was a mourning festival in the month Broedromion. A sacrifice was performed to Ge, and the citizents brought offerings to the graves of the dead.[70]
An ancient Gaia cult existed at the "Marathonian Tetrapolis" near Athens . In the month Poseideon a pregnant cow was sacrificed to "Ge in the acres" and in Gamelion a sheep to" Ge-near the oracle". Both sacrifices were followed by rituals and the second was related toDaeira a divinity connected with the Eleusinian mysteries. At Eleusis Ge received a premilinary offering among other gods.[69] Ge was associated with the dead at Mykonos. Seven black lambs were offered to "Zeus Chthonios" and "Ge-Chthonia" in the month Lenaion. The worshippers were offered to feast at the place of worship.[70] At Sparta Gaia was worshipped together with Zeus. There was a double shrine of "Ge" and "Zeus Agoraios" (of the market place).[12][71]
Gaia has several epithets and attributes. In poetrychthon frequently has the same meaning withgaia.[72] Some of her epithets are similar in some Indo-European languages. The universitality of the goddess is expressed by the prefixpan,(πάν).[73][74] Some of the epithets of Gaia and Demeter are similar showing the identity of their nature.
Anēsidora (ἀνησιδώρα), sending up gifts.[75][76][77]
Chthonia (χθονία) in Myconos.[78]Pherecydes uses the nameChthonie, for the primeval goddess who becameGe:.[79]
Eurysternos (εὐρύστερνος): broad breasted.[69] Earth is the broad seat of all immortals (Hesiod).[74][80]
Gaia entrusts Erichthonios to Athena. From left to right: Hephaestus, Athena, Erichthonios, Gaia, Aphrodite. Said to come from the temple of Hephaestus in Athens. Pentelic marble. 100–150 AD.Louvre
Gaia is believed by some sources[96] to be the original deity behind theOracle atDelphi. It was thus said: "That word spoken from tree-clad mother Gaia's (Earth's) navel-stone [Omphalos]."[97] Depending on the source, Gaia passed her powers on toPoseidon,Apollo, orThemis. Pausanias wrote:
Many and different are the stories told about Delphi, and even more so about the oracle of Apollo. For they say that in the earliest times the oracular seat belonged to Earth, who appointed as prophetess at it Daphnis, one of the nymphs of the mountain. There is extant among the Greeks an hexameter poem, the name of which is Eumolpia, and it is assigned toMusaeus, son of Antiophemus. In it the poet states that the oracle belonged to Poseidon and Earth in common; that Earth gave her oracles herself, but Poseidon used Pyrcon as his mouthpiece in giving responses. The verses are these: "Forthwith the voice of the Earth-goddess uttered a wise word, And with her Pyrcon, servant of the renowned Earth-shaker." They say that afterwards Earth gave her share to Themis, who gave it to Apollo as a gift. It is said that he gave to PoseidonCalaureia, that lies offTroezen, in exchange for his oracle.[98]
Apollo is the best-known as the oracle power behind Delphi, long established by the time of Homer, having killed Gaia's childPython there and usurped thechthonic power.[99] Hera punished Apollo for this by sending him to KingAdmetus as a shepherd for nine years.[citation needed] Gaia or Ge had at least three sanctuaries in Greece which were mentioned byPausanias. There was a temple of Ge Eurusternos on the Crathis near Aegae in Achaia with "a very ancient statue":[100]
It is a journey of about thirty stades [from the stream of Krathis (Crathis) near the ruins of Aigai (Aegae) in Akhaia] to what is called the Gaion (Gaeum), a sanctuary of Ge (Earth) surnamed Eurysternos (Broad-bossomed), whose wooden image is one of the very oldest. The woman who from time to time is priestess henceforth remains chaste and before her election must not have had intercourse with more than one man. The test applied is drinking bull's blood. Any woman who may chance not to speak the truth is immediately punished as a result of this test. If several women compete for the priesthood, lots are cast for the honor.
Pausanias also mention the sanctuary of Ge Gasepton inSparta,[101] and a sanctuary of Ge Kourotrophe (Nurse of the Young) at Athens.[82] Aside from her temples, Gaia had altars as well as sacred spaces in the sanctuaries of other gods. Close to the sanctuary of Eileithyia in Tegea was an altar of Ge;[102] Phlya and Myrrhinos had an altar to Ge under the name Thea Megale (Great goddess);[83] as well as Olympia which additionally, similar to Delphi, also said to have had an oracle to Gaia:
On what is called the Gaion (Gaeum, Sanctuary of Ge) [at Olympia] is an altar of Ge (Earth); it too is of ashes. In more ancient days they say that there was an oracle also of Ge (Earth) in this place. On what is called the Stomion (Mouth) the altar to Themis has been built.[103]
Her statues were naturally to be found in the temples of Demeter, such as the Temple of Demeter in Achaia: "They [the Patraians of Akhaia (Achaea)] have also a grove by the sea, affording in summer weather very agreeable walks and a pleasant means generally of passing the time. In this grove are also two temples of divinities, one of Apollon, the other of Aphrodite ... Next to the grove is a sanctuary of Demeter; she and her daughter [Persephone] are standing, but the image of Ge (Earth) is seated."[104]
The Temple of Zeus Olympios in Athens reportedly had an enclosure of Ge Olympia:
[Within the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios in the lower town of Athens:] Within the precincts are antiquities: a bronze Zeus, a temple of Kronos (Cronus) and Rhea and an enclosure of Ge (Earth) surnamed Olympia. Here the floor opens to the width of a cubit, and they say that along this bed flowed off the water after the deluge that occurred in the time of Deukalion, and into it they cast every year wheat mixed with honey ... The ancient sanctuary of Zeus Olympios the Athenians say was built by Deukalion (Deucalion), and they cite as evidence that Deukalion lived at Athens a grave which is not far from the present temple.[85]
In Athens, there was a statue of Gaia on the Acropolis depicting her beseeching Zeus for rain[105] as well as an image of her close to the court of the Areopagos in Athens, alongside the statues of Plouton and Hermes, "by which sacrifice those who have received an acquittal on the Areopagos".[106]
Aion andTellus Mater with infant deities of the fruit of the seasons, in a mosaic from a Roman villa inSentinum, first half of the third century BC (Munich Glyptothek, Inv. W504)
Some modern sources, such asMellaart,Gimbutas, andWalker, claim that Gaia as Mother Earth is a later form of apre-Indo-EuropeanGreat Mother, venerated inNeolithic times. Her existence is a speculation and controversial in the academic community. Some modern mythographers, includingKerenyi,Ruck, andStaples, interpret the goddessesDemeter the "mother",Persephone the "daughter", andHecate the "crone", as aspects of a former great goddess identified by some[who?] asRhea or as Gaia herself. InCrete, a goddess was worshipped asPotnia Theron (the "Mistress of the Animals") or simplyPotnia ("Mistress"), speculated[by whom?] as Rhea or Gaia; the title was later applied in Greek texts toArtemis. The mother goddessCybele fromAnatolia (modernTurkey) was partly identified by the Greeks with Gaia, but more so with Rhea.
Beliefs and worship amongst modern pagans (also known asneopagans) regarding Gaia vary, ranging from the belief that Gaia is the Earth to the belief that she is the spiritual embodiment of the earth or the goddess of the Earth.[107]
Gaia is the personification of the Earth, and these are her offspring as related in various myths. Some are related consistently, some are mentioned only in minor variants of myths, and others are related in variants that are considered to reflect a confusion of the subject or association.
^Hesiod,Theogony116–122 states that Gaia,Tartarus andEros come afterChaos, but this does not necessarily mean they are the offspring of Chaos.Gantz, pp.4–5Archived 2023-09-24 at theWayback Machine writes that, "[w]ith regard to all three of these figures—Gaia, Tartaros, and Eros—we should note that Hesiod does not say they arosefrom (as opposed toafter) Chaos, although this is often assumed". Hard 2004,p. 23 says that "[a]lthough it is quite often assumed that all three are born out of Chaos as her offspring, this is not stated by Hesiod nor indeed implied, governed by the same verbgeneto ('came to be'). Gaia, Tartaros and Eros are best regarded as being primal realities like Chaos that came into existence independently of her". Similarly, Caldwell, pp.3,35 says that theTheogony "begins with the spontaneous appearance of Chaos, Gaia, Tartaros, and Eros (116–122). By their emergence from nothing, without sources or parents, these four are separated from everything that follows."
^[Sacrifices to the gods as witnesses of an oath:] Bring two lambs : let one be white and the other black for Gaia (Earth) and Helios (Sun). [N.B.Chthonic Gaia receives a black animal, celestialHelios a white one.]:Iliad 3.104
^abcdeHard: "The Rootledge handbook of Greek mythology", p.32Hard p.32
^Hesiod,Theogony820–880; Gantz, p. 48;Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Typhoeus;Oxford Classical Dictionary, s.v. Gaia. Hard 2004,p. 84: "Hesiod does not explain why Gaia, who was otherwise well-disposed toward Zeus, should have wished to give birth to this threatening monster, nor does he state that she did so with hostile intent."
^Hyginus,Fabulae Theogony 4 (Smith and Trzaskoma,p. 95;Latin text). In addition to these figures, there are two Giants listed whose names are unintelligible.
^Floyd, Edwin (1968). "The Première of Pindar's Third and Ninth Pythian Odes".Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association.99. The Johns Hopkins University press:181–202.doi:10.2307/2935839.JSTOR2935839.
^According toHesiod,Theogony927–929, Hephaestus was produced by Hera alone, with no father, see Gantz, p. 74.
^According toHesiod,Theogony886–890, of Zeus' children by his seven wives, Athena was the first to be conceived, but the last to be born; Zeus impregnated Metis then swallowed her, later Zeus himself gave birth to Athena "from his head", see Gantz, pp. 51–52, 83–84.
^According toHesiod,Theogony183–200, Aphrodite was born from Uranus' severed genitals, see Gantz, pp. 99–100.
Hard, Robin (2004),The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004,ISBN9780415186360.Google Books.
Hyginus, Gaius Julius,Fabulae inApollodorus'Library and Hyginus'Fabulae: Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma, Hackett Publishing Company, 2007.ISBN978-0-87220-821-6.
Ovid,Ovid's Fasti: With an English translation by Sir James George Frazer, London: W. Heinemann LTD; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959.Internet Archive.
Pausanias,Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pindar,The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Ruck, Carl A.P. and Danny Staples,The World of Classical Myth, 1994.
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