Gaia is the goddess of the earth. Sons of the Goddess Gaia

From the ancient Greek language, Gaia is the "earth". She is considered the daughter of Ether and Gemer, the mother of everything living and growing on her. Sometimes this ancient Greek goddess is called Htonia. It spawned a multitude of creatures, among them were titans, giants and other monsters.

Gaia in mythology

Gaia is a powerful goddess in ancient Greek mythology, which 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 (the master 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 spawned Uranus, and after his accession in the world 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 was very fond of her children, unlike Uranus. One day Gaia called on the Titans to rebel against their father and deprive him of power. So they could become free and come out of the abyss. This was decided by Kronos, who proclaimed himself the ruler of the world.

Taking advantage of the blood of the mutilated Uranus, the goddess gave birth to mighty 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 to win the giants to the Olympic gods.

Gaia met with Tartarus to create Typhon - a terrible monster with dragon heads, which was supposed to defeat Zeus. But Typhon was overthrown and sent to Tartarus.

All representations about the goddess are derived mainly from the works of Homer's "Iliad", "Odyssey" and "Theogony" by Hesiod.

Appearance of the goddess

How did the goddess of the land of Gaia look in the representation of the ancient Greeks? Images of the goddess is not known much. This is due to the fact that there were no temples built in her honor, only in rare cases did they create altars. She was portrayed as a woman with a majestic look.

Similarity with other cultures

In Roman mythology, which in many ways is similar to the ancient Greek, there was a Gaia - it is Tellus. She was a land giving life. At the same time, Tellus was also a grave for everything that lost its life. It can also be compared with 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 (Thunderer), who covered the Earth with moisture (rain), as a result of which she gave a harvest.

Satellites of the Goddess

Since its inception, the Greek goddess of the land of Gaea has produced all life. She had many sons from different gods.

Satellites of Gaia, who became the fathers of her children:

• Ether - 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 Pontus, which in mythology personified the inner sea. Some sources say that Gaia created Pontus herself.
• Pontus is a deity of the pre-Olympic period. With him, the goddess gave birth to Tavmant (the god of sea monsters), Forkis (god of miracles and stormy sea), Keto (goddess of the sea depth), Nereus (god of the water element), Eurybia (goddess of sea power).
• Uranus is the personification of the sky.
• Tartarus - the deepest abyss, which is located under the world of Aida. Together with the goddess, they created the giants of Typhon (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 a god who ruled the seas, earthquakes and horse breeding. Together with Zeus and Hades is considered one of the main Olympians. Together with Gaia, he became the father of Antaeus, the giant, who replenished his power from contact with the earth. He was king and all foreigners offered a battle, 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 Anthea above the ground and broke his back.

Different sources treat differently the marital relations between the listed heroes, therefore other variants of their relationship are possible.

The descendants of Gaia and Uranus

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 together with Uranus.

Joint children:

• Hecatonhair - giants, who had a hundred hands. They were called Briari, Kott, Gies. It was they who were afraid of their father, and therefore he chained them shortly after birth in the bowels of the earth.

• Cyclops are one-eyed giant brothers with the names Arg (Shining), Bront (Thunder), Sterop (Shining). At first they were tied up and thrown into Tartarus by his father, and later Kronos did the same with them.

• Titans are twelve gods, six female and masculine. They entered into marriage with each other 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 Sister Rhea, gave birth to Zeus.
• Erinia were spawned by the earth from the blood of Uranus, were the goddesses of revenge. Their number varies depending on the source. They pursued criminals, plunging them into insanity.

The descendants of Gaia 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.
• Erichthony is the Athenian king (the son of the goddess of the land of Gaia) who was born when Hephaestus shed his seed, and it fell into the ground. Like Cecrops, he had the body of a snake. He was brought up by Athena in his temple.

There are in mythology the children of Gaia, whom she created on her own, for example, the giant Argus.