Gaea

In Greek mythology, **Gaea** (Greek: Γαια, *Gaia*, "earth"), also spelled as ***Gaie*** (Greek: Γαιη, "earth") or ***Ge*** (Greek: Γη, "earth"), was the primordial goddess of the earth. She was also the mother of all deities of the earth and, in that aspect, was how she earned the title *Mother Earth*. Gaea was also worshipped as Gaea Anesidora, meaning "giver of gifts". In Roman mythology, Gaea was closely identified with Terra.

Gaea was one of the first beings to emerge after the creation of the universe. She came into existence after Chaos and before Tartarus and Eros. Hyginus states that the Earth, Heaven, and Sea were the children of Aether and Hemera.

In classical Greek art, Gaea has been depicted in two ways. First, in Athenian vase painting she was illustrated as a matronly woman rising from the earth. In mosaics, she was depicted as a woman reclining upon the earth and surrounded by Carpi.

## Mythology

### Uranus, Cronus, and Zeus

In *Theogony*, Hesiod writes about Gaea giving rise to Uranus, Pontus, and the Ourea without a father and mothered the twelve Titans with Uranus. Hesiod writes:

*She [Gaea] lay with Heaven and bore deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos [Cronus] the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire.*

As mentioned above, the twelve Titan children of Gaea include Cronus, Coeus, Hyperion, Crius, Iapetus, Oceanus, Rhea, Phoebe, Theia, Tethys, Mnemosyne, and Themis.

Hesiod also tells that, after the Titans, Gaea bore Uranus six more sons, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. After each of these sons were born, Uranus imprisoned them in Tartarus, causing Gaea great pain. So Gaea devised a plan to get Cronus to overthrow his father. Gaea created a grey flint or adamantine sickle and Cronus used it to castrate Uranus as he approached Gaea to have sex with her. Some of Uranus' blood spilled upon Gaea and produced the Erinyes, the Gigantes, and the Meliae. Cronus' castrated genitals were thrown into the sea and Aphrodite was born from the sea foam that was created.

By Pontus, Gaea mothered Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia.

Cronus had learned from Gaea that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his own children so he swallowed each of his children born to him by his wife Rhea. When Rhea was pregnant with her youngest child, Zeus, she sought help from Gaea. When Zeus was born, Rhea gave Cronus a stone swaddled in clothes to swallow in his place. Gaea took Zeus and entrusted him into the care of nymphs.

With Gaea's advice, Zeus defeated the Titans. Although Zeus released the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from their imprisonment, he kept the Titans imprisoned in Tartarus so Gaea conspired against him, as well. She mothered Typhon who attempted to destroy the gods and she also set her giant sons against the gods, but they too were destroyed.

### Tityos

When Hera attempted to catch Zeus and Elara whilst they were in the middle of having an affair, Zeus hid Elara from Hera under the earth. Elara birthed Tityos, a son of Zeus, and he emerged from the earth and is considered a child of Gaea.

## Notes

* In Ancient Greece, oaths that were sworn in the name of Gaea were considered to be the most binding.
* Apollodorus writes that Gaea was the mother of Echidna by Tartarus, although the more common belief of her parentage is of Phorcys and Ceto.