Greek Goddess Gaea ( Gaia ) from greekgodsandgoddesses.net

Known as both Gaia and Gaea, the Goddess Gaia is a figure from Greek mythology. Her name essentially means earth or land and shows that she was the human version of the earth. Some refer to her as the ancestral mother and claim that she gave birth to all of the elements of the world. Gaia birthed URANUS, also known as Ouranos and THE TITANS as well as other major figures such as the Gigantes and CYCLOPES. Terra is the Roman version of the goddess.

In the creation myth, CHAOS came before everything else. He was made of Void, Mass and Darkness in confusion; and then earth in the form of Gaea came into existence. From “Mother Earth” sprang the starry heavens, in the shape of the SKY GOD Uranus, and from Gaea also came the mountains, plains, seas and rivers that make up the Earth we know today.

Meaning of Her Name – Gaia/Gaea

Though some Greek gods and goddesses have names that scholars later established, Gaia’s name dates back to before Greek civilization. Her name in other languages includes Doric and Attic, but all of the names mean earth. Mycenean Greeks called her Ma-Ka or Ma-Go, both of which mean Mother Gaia.

The Titans and Earth

Gaia was the first of the immortals. She arose during the chaos period. Greeks refer to this period as the time before gods and goddesses. Christians use the same term to describe the world before God separated heaven and earth. She would become the eternal seat on Mount Olympus where all Olympians sat. Many refer to those men and women as the 12 Olympians. During the early years, many called her Mother Earth.

As soon as she arose, she took possession of Mount Olympus and began overseeing the world. TARTARUS was the next immortal and known for helping pave the earth, followed by EROS who was the god of love. After spending many years as the only creature, she became so lonely that she created Uranus. To make him happy, she gave him control over the sky and heaven. She believed that he would help and protect her. Gaia then created both PONTUS to oversee the ocean and OUREA to take over the mountains. These two beings were unique in that she created them alone and without the assistance of a father/male.

The creation of the Titans was equally as interesting. One night, the goddess and her son lay together. This resulted in the birth of CRONUS, who was the original Titan. While her other children loved and respected their mother, Cronus was different. He thought his mother was lusty and sinful. Knowing the truth behind his birth, he was often awful to her and acted out.

Other Children

As one of the more prolific goddesses in Greek mythology, Gaia had multiple children. Their births helped her become known as Mother Goddess. She and Uranus laid together a second time and sired Cyclopes. They also had Brontes and STEROPES, who became known as Thunder and Lighting along with Arges known as Bright. HECATOCHIRES, Gyges, Cottus and Briareos were other children the mother and son had together. Legend says that all three had 50 heads and 100 arms. Worried about their creation, Uranus tucked them away and hid his children from the world.

Gaia was unhappy but didn’t know to take control of the situation until she came up with a new plan. She used a piece of gray flint to create a sickle and convinced her other children to help with her plan. Uranus returned to his mother with amorous plans. He instead found Cronus who grabbed the sickle and cut off his father’s testicles. Even as his blood ran, Gaia used him to father more children. Sh bore both the MELIAE who were tree nymphs and the Giants as well as Erinyes. Many know this group as the furies. As his blood rushed into the sea, Aphrodite sprung forward.

After laying with her son Pontus, the goddess of the earth had several more children. These children include EURYBIA, NEREUS and CETO as well as Thaumas and PHORCYS. All of her children with this son are sea deities. This led to her connection to both the water and earth. She also had Triptolemos wit her son OCEANUS.
Cronus later became obsessed with a warning He received from both Uranus and Gaia.

They told him that he would have success in life but that one of his children would gain control over him. When he lay with Rhea who was his sister, he was so worried about what might happen that he swallowed their children immediately after she birthed them. RHEA wanted to have children. After becoming pregnant again, she went to her parents for help. They helped her protect the child and created a stone that they wrapped in cloth. Cronus thought this was his child, which gave Rhea time to escape with their actual child. This baby was ZEUS.

Years later, Zeus went to war with the Titans. Though his mother was a Titan and Gaia was the mother of the Titans, she agreed to help him. Zeus won in his battle and brought an end to the group who wanted to defeat him. Though she helped him, the earth mother and Tartarus had a son Typhon. Not only was TYPHON her last so, but he would later go up against Zeus.

Night and Day

Hyginus claimed that Gaia had a child with Sea and Heaven, which resulted in the births of AETHER and HEMERA. These two children later became known as night and Day. Another early biography of the goddess claims that she and Tartarus were the parents of ECHIDNA. Echidna was a monster who was part snake and part human. She spent much of her life living in a hidden cave and birthed some of the more popular monsters in
Greek mythology.