Gaia
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Gaia.
8838: Tellus. Roman relief, 13-9 BC. Marble, Ara Pacis. Royal Cast Collection, Copenhagen.
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| Gaia is the Earth. She is the offspring of Chaos or comes into being
after it.
Gaia appears
The first to exist was Chaos, a void of
unexplained origin. After Chaos, Gaia appeared,
whether she was the offspring of Chaos or not, and also Eros, through whom the
whole Cosmos came to be; for the world is not
created, but procreated through Love and intercourse.
Birth of Uranus
Then Gaia bore Uranus (Sky, or Heaven), as an equal to herself; for as
the gods have in her a sure standing-place, they
have, in Uranus, a secure resting place. This is why Heaven and Earth, though being different, are equal. And after Uranus, she
brought forth, by herself, the MOUNTAINS and
Pontus, the sea.
Her mate
But she gave birth to Uranus, so that he would
cover her all over; so laying with him, she bore
the TITANS, the CYCLOPES, and the HECATONCHEIRES. However, Uranus,
hating his offspring, hid some or many of them away
in a secret place on earth, or as some say, cast
them into Tartarus, which is a gloomy place in the Underworld as far
from Earth as Earth is from Heaven.
Gaia behind Cronos'
coup d'état
And since it seems to be written in the fate of
stern tyrants that they will be conspired against, Gaia, grieved at the
destruction of her children, and being strained and
stretched inside her (where the children were
hidden), addressed the TITANS, persuading them
to attack their father. To help this purpose, she
gave Cronos an adamantine
sickle, with which he castrated his father, and
dethroned him.
Cronos new ruler
When the TITANS had
deposed Uranus, the
latter prophesied that vengeance for the terrible
deed they had performed would come afterwards. The TITANS then liberated
their brethren, who had been hurled down to Tartarus, and Cronos became the second
ruler of the universe. Being in power, however, Cronos started seeing
things much as his predecessor, and soon he again
bound and shut the CYCLOPES and the HECATONCHEIRES up
in the same dark depth. And since both Gaia and Uranus foretold to their
son that he would dethroned by his own son, Cronos began to swallow
his offspring at birth, in an attempt to escape
fate.
Gaia foretells victory to Zeus
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Gaia: the great mother takes the body.
"Den stora modern". Grass sculpture by Lena Lervik, Lund, Sweden 1998.
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Such attempts are vain; and Rhea 1 (Cronos' wife), tired of
being so often pregnant yet never a mother,
deceived her husband by wrapping a stone in
clothes, and giving it to him to swallow, as if it
were the newborn child Zeus. When Zeus grew up, he
and the gods waged war against the TITANS for ten years. It
was then that Gaia prophesied victory to Zeus if he would have the CYCLOPES and the HECATONCHEIRES to
help him. And he, taking them as allies, dethroned Cronos, and shut the TITANS up in Tartarus,
appointing the HECATONCHEIRES as
their guards.
Gaia angry at the gods
Yet some have said that Gaia was vexed because
the OLYMPIANS had
defeated the TITANS, and
that this was the reason why she gave birth to GIANTS who attacked
heaven [see also Gigantomachy]. They
add that when the OLYMPIANS had overcome
the GIANTS, Gaia, still
more enraged, had intercourse with Tartarus, giving
birth to Typhon 1; this was a hybrid creature,
between man and beast, who in size and strength
surpassed all her offspring [for the attack of
Typhon 1 against heaven see Zeus]. The gods can cope with such beasts. But when Orion boasted that he was
able to kill anything the earth produced, Gaia,
angered at this boast, sent the Scorpion (now among
the CONSTELLATIONS)
that killed him.
Prophetic powers
According to a Pythian priestess, the first to
have prophetic powers was Gaia, who appointed
Daphnis 4, a Mountain Nymph (Oread), as prophetess
at Delphi. It is said
that Gaia was succeeded at this oracle by Themis, and the latter by
the Titaness Phoebe 1, who finally ceded her seat
to Phoebus Apollo, who was surnamed after her. It was Gaia (along with Uranus) who told Zeus that Metis 1, after
giving birth to the maiden who was in her womb,
would bear a son fated to become the lord of
heaven. The god then, listening to that prophetic
warning, swallowed the goddess with whom he had
intercourse so that, having her in his belly, she
should advise him in good and evil plans.
Zeus takes the soul of
man and Gaia his body
Concerning the soul and body of man, this has been told: Cura fashioned a man out of mud, and asked Zeus to give him life. The
god granted his request, but forbade her to call
man after herself, as she wished. When Zeus wanted to call him
after himself, however, Gaia said it should have
hers, since it was made out of her own body. Cronos then decided the
dispute, letting Zeus take
the soul, and Gaia the body, after death. Cura,
since she first fashioned him, would possess him as
long as he lived. His name would be Homo, since he
was made from humus.
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Mates |
Offspring |
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- Some authors, when reading Hesiod's
Theogony, have understood that Gaia
came after Chaos in the
sense that Gaia is the offspring of Chaos, whereas
others think she just appeared after Chaos.
- Aether is the Upper Sky; Hemera is
Day.
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Anax |
The land of Anactoria, later called Miletus in
Asia Minor, was called after Anax. He had a son
Asterius 4, who became ruler of Anactoria. |
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Antaeus 1 |
Antaeus 1, sometimes called son of Poseidon, ruled in
Libya and used to kill strangers by forcing them to
wrestle. He became stronger when he touched the
Earth, so Heracles 1 killed him while holding him in the air. |
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Argus
1
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Arion 1 |
This is the horse given by Heracles 1 to Adrastus 1, who
survived the war against Thebes, saved by his
horse. |
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Caerus 1 |
One of the horses of Adrastus 1. Was one of
the horses of Amphiaraus in the
chariot-race at Opheltes 1's funeral games [see
also SEVEN AGAINS
THEBES]. |
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Cecrops 1 |
Cecrops 1 had a body compounded of man and
serpent, was the first king of Attica and under his
kingdom the country was adjudged to Athena. Some have said
Cecrops 1 was AUTOCHTHONOUS [see
also Athens and Envy]. |
Pontus |
Ceto 1 |
Pontus is the sea and Ceto 1 a divinity of the
sea. Ceto 1 is the mother of the GORGONS [see Medusa 1], the GRAEAE
[see Perseus 1], of
Ladon 4, the guardian snake with one hundred heads
who kept the golden apples of the HESPERIDES, and of
Echidna, the monster slain by Argus 1. |
Eurybia 1 |
Eurybia 1 married the Titan Crius 1 and had by
him Astraeus 1, Pallas 1 and Perses 1. |
Nereus |
Nereus is a sea-deity who can turn himself into
all kinds of shapes and who dwells in the Aegean
Sea. He is the father of the NEREIDS. |
Phorcus |
Phorcus is a sea-deity. Some say he was the
offspring of Oceanus & Tethys. |
Thaumas 1 |
Thaumas 1 consorted with the Oceanid Electra 1
and had by her the HARPIES [see BESTIARY], Iris 1 and Hydaspes 1, an
Indian river god. Some have said that Thaumas 1 had
the HARPIES by Ozomene. |
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Creusa 3 |
Creusa 3 was a Naiad. She consorted with the
river god Peneus, and had by him Hypseus 1, king of
the LAPITHS, and Stilbe,
mother of Lapithus 1 and Centaurus by Apollo. |
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CURETES |
[See CORYBANTES.] |
Uranus |
CYCLOPES
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Uranus is Sky, son and
husband of Gaia. |
HECATONCHEIRES |
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MUSES
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TITANS |
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Dragon 3 |
This is the dragon that guarded the Golden
Fleece. It was lulled to sleep by Medea and killed by Jason, Captain of the ARGONAUTS. |
Tartarus |
Echidna |
For Echidna see BESTIARY, and for
Tartarus see Underworld. |
Typhon |
For Tartarus see Underworld and for
Typhon see Zeus. |
Hephaestus
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Erichthonius 2 |
For Erichthonius 2 see Athens. |
Uranus' Blood |
ERINYES |
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MELIADS |
MELIADS are called the Nymphs of the ash-trees. |
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Hyllus 2 |
After Hyllus 2 a river in Lydia in Asia Minor,
was called. |
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Leitus |
Leader of the Boeotians against Troy. He was wounded by Hector 1, and was the
only one among the Boeotian chiefs to return home
from Troy. He is also
called son of Alector 2, or son of Lacritus and
Cleobule 2, or son of Alectryon. |
Zeus
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Manes |
Manes was the first king of Lydia in Asia Minor.
He married the Oceanid Callirrhoe 1 and had by her
sons Atys 3 and Cotys 2. Atys 3 became king after
his father (who some said was Cotys 2) and is said
to be a descendant of Heracles 1 and
Omphale. |
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MOUNTAINS |
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Orion |
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Pheme
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Pheme is Rumour, a
messenger of Zeus, a
swift-footed creature, a winged angel of ruin with
sleepless eyes and countless tongues and ears. The
peaceful world of heaven was forbidden for her,
whose voice is ever sounding both good and evil and
spreading panic. In wrath she dwells beneath the
clouds, a spirit neither of hell nor of heaven, and
troubles the earth. |
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Phlyus |
Father of Celaenus 1, father of Caucon 2, the
man who brought the rites of the Great Goddesses
from Eleusis to Messenia under the
reign of Polycaon 1 and Messene. |
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Pontus |
Pontus is the Sea, son and mate of Gaia. |
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Python |
Python is the dragon that guarded Themis' oracle at Delphi [see also Leto]. |
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Scorpion |
This is the scorpion that was sent by Gaia or Artemis to kill Orion. He was put in the
sky among the stars by Zeus. |
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Tityus |
Tityus, who some call son of Zeus & Elare, is known
for having attempted to rape Leto. He was killed by her
sweet children Apollo and Artemis, and is now
being punished in the Underworld where
vultures eat his heart os his liver.
About Elare it is said that Zeus hid her under
the earth for fear of Hera's jealousy.
Tityus' daughter Europe 2 had by Poseidon a son Euphemus
1, who joined the ARGONAUTS. He received
a magical clod from Triton [see BESTIARY] and threw it
into the sea, following a dream, and therefrom rose
an island, Calliste (Thera), where his descendants,
led by Theras, came. |
Oceanus
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Triptolemus |
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Uranus |
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GIANTS
Offspring either of Uranus & Gaia, or of Uranus' Blood: Agrius 2, Alcyoneus 1, Clytius 6, Enceladus 2, Ephialtes 1, Eurytus 7, Gration, Hippolytus 3, Mimas 1, Pallas 4, Polybotes, Porphyrion 1, Thoas 5.
GIANTS, by herself: Alpus, Chthonius 4, Damasen, Peloreus, Typhoeus 2. |
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Genealogical Charts
Names in this table: Aphrodite, Ceto 1, CYCLOPES, ERINYES, Eurybia 1, Gaia, GIANTS, HECATONCHEIRES,
MELIAD NYMPHS, MOUNTAINS, Nereus, Phorcus, Pontus,
Tartarus, Thaumas 1, TITANS, Typhon, Uranus. |
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Sources
Abbreviations |
Aes.Supp.306; Apd.1.1.1-4,
1.2.1-7, 1.6.1-2, 2.5.11; Arg.2.1209; DH.1.27.1-2;
Dio.4.7.2, 5.65.1; Eur.IA.259;
Hes.The.116ff., 131-3, 140, 149, 183ff., 233, 237-8,
713ff., 822; Hyg.Ast.2.26;
Hyg.Fab.48, 140, 151, 220; Hyg.Pre;
Lib.Met.6; Nonn.1.155, 2.341, 2.620, 4.331, 4.338, 13.99,
25.238, 25.486, 45.174, 48.10ff., 48.22, 48.39, 48.77;
Ov.Met.1.438ff.; Pau.1.2.6, 1.14.2-3, 1.35.6-8, 4.1.5,
8.25.9, 9.29.4; Pin.Pyth.9.16; TIT.1;
Stat.Theb.1.563; Vir.Aen.4.173ff. |
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