What was/is Gaia?

[David19]

This is something i've wondered about for awhile, as Gaia (or at least the name) is incredibly popular amongst Pagans, but was she actually a god, as in an anthropomorphic being like the other gods (e.g. Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Yahweh, Isis, Odin, Thor, etc) or was she something else.

I've read that in ancient Greece, Gaia referred to both the earth itself, and also the god Gaia, or that Gaia was the earth but could assume an human-ish form, is this true.

Also, does anyone actually worship Gaia here, and i mean the actual god, if so, what have your experiences been like, what's her personality like, i've read this Greek mythology book in the shops, which i want to get (guess it goes on my ever expanding list!), which does make Gaia sound quite cool and kick ass in a way, as it talks about how she created the Giants to fight the Olymptian gods, then Typhoon(sp?), etc, she doesn't sound as 'fluffy' as many would like her to be, which i think is a good thing.

Anyway, thanks for any help you can give me :).

[Taliesyn]

Gaia is, like you said the ancient greek name for the Earth Goddess. I see Her as the primordial mother of all life, and I do call her as my patron Goddess. on My altar is a statue of her, based on the oldest statue ever found. (i'll post a pic of it a bit later )
Gaia is also the name chosen by Oberon Zell to call the conciousness of the earth- in the Gaia theroy, He talked about how the Earth is an organisim, which we are a part of.
As far as fluffy- I don't really like that term- the elders I learned from said never to lauch at another's ways or rites- but she isn't always nice, Mother Gaia. just try to stand out in a hurricane ,or the lip of a volcano (or a hornet's nest) and you'll understand that :)

[Taliesyn]

here you go

[Fiamma]

This is something i've wondered about for awhile, as Gaia (or at least the name) is incredibly popular amongst Pagans, but was she actually a god, as in an anthropomorphic being like the other gods (e.g. Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Yahweh, Isis, Odin, Thor, etc) or was she something else.

I've read that in ancient Greece, Gaia referred to both the earth itself, and also the god Gaia, or that Gaia was the earth but could assume an human-ish form, is this true.

Also, does anyone actually worship Gaia here, and i mean the actual god, if so, what have your experiences been like, what's her personality like, i've read this Greek mythology book in the shops, which i want to get (guess it goes on my ever expanding list!), which does make Gaia sound quite cool and kick ass in a way, as it talks about how she created the Giants to fight the Olymptian gods, then Typhoon(sp?), etc, she doesn't sound as 'fluffy' as many would like her to be, which i think is a good thing.

Anyway, thanks for any help you can give me :).


here's a page about Gaea with references to original sources and some images from old Greek artwork as well:
http://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Gaia.html

Gaea wasn't worshipped back in ancient Greece in the way she has been in modern times. Her cult was pretty small, and other goddesses relating to the earth were more widely worshipped, such as Demeter, who is more a grain mother than an earth mother, but still relates closely to earth. She also wasn't seen as "the consciousness of the Earth"

What book are you referring to?

[Fiamma]

here you go


do you have a picture of the original statue?

[Agaliha]

Theoi.com: Greek Mythology: GAEA GAIA Protogenos Goddess of the Earth ( Ge Terra Tellus ) w/ Pictures (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuuHbz2VFo2IAVJJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3dm41ZWlqBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNjY2X zExNg--/SIG=11t7j2lc0/EXP=1164386651/**http%3a//www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Gaia.html) --Lots of info. (ETA: Fiamma beat me to it!)
Wikipedia: Gaia (mythology) (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuuHbz2VFo2IAQpJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3OG1mbzVtBGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNjY2X zExNg--/SIG=1218e23lh/EXP=1164386651/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(mythology)) -- Gaia: The Earth Mother (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuuHbz2VFo2IAYZJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3dGI1dDc3BGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDOARzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNjY2X zExNg--/SIG=1238ggbte/EXP=1164386651/**http%3a//www.paleothea.com/SortaSingles/Gaia.html) -- pantheon.org: Gaia (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuoUT0GVF8scACidXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE4NTNqdmN2BGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMTkEc2VjA3NyBHZ0aWQDRjY2N l8xMTY-/SIG=120nk7on1/EXP=1164386707/**http%3a//www.pantheon.org/articles/g/gaia.html)

[Theres]

Gaea wasn't worshipped back in ancient Greece in the way she has been in modern times. Her cult was pretty small, and other goddesses relating to the earth were more widely worshipped, such as Demeter, who is more a grain mother than an earth mother, but still relates closely to earth. She also wasn't seen as "the consciousness of the Earth"
thank you.


do you have a picture of the original statue?
my first thought too.

[Taliesyn]

that statue was my version of the venus of willendorf

the use of Gaia as the name for earth's conciousness is from the 70's.

[skilly-nilly]

The modern 'Gaia Concept' of the Earth as an organism is based in biological research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_theory

[Arion]

In my understanding, Gaia is the Earth. She was often depicted as an anthropomorphic female being, while her son/husband Ouranos is the sky and an anthropomorphic male. She is a more primal goddess than gods like Zeus, Athena and so on, and I think the younger gods live within her, she doesn't live among them. She is "bigger" and older. At least, that's my impression of her.

[CyberSpaceKarma]

When I think of Gaia, I also think of the Earth Goddess. There was a statue I would love to find again someday to buy, of a woman sitting with her pregnant belly as the earth, and that is the imagine I get in my head when I think of Gaia. The Great Mother, the Universal Mother, the Earth and the Divine force that watches over it.

[Fiamma]

that statue was my version of the venus of willendorf

the use of Gaia as the name for earth's conciousness is from the 70's.


Ah, ok, the Woman of Willendorf/Venus Of Willendorf.

I was a bit confused, since I've enver seen such a sculture of Gaea.

[Fiamma]

When I think of Gaia, I also think of the Earth Goddess. There was a statue I would love to find again someday to buy, of a woman sitting with her pregnant belly as the earth, and that is the imagine I get in my head when I think of Gaia. The Great Mother, the Universal Mother, the Earth and the Divine force that watches over it.


The statue is called called the Millenium Gaia.

I know a lot of people that really love that statue. Myself, I'm not a huge fan. (I don't really like the aesthetics) I don't see Gaea as a mother goddess, I see her as a goddess of the earth, which I don't believe are the same things, and I just don't see the earth as my mother.

[Philosophia]

Some links:
Gaea and her Daughters (http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/mother.html#Earth)
GAEA: The Earth Goddess (http://www.waltm.net/gaea.htm)
Gaea (http://www.thaliatook.com/gaea.html)
Gaea Homework (http://thanasis.com/gaea.htm)
Gaia/Gaea (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jamesdow/s073/f001204.htm)
The Mystica (http://www.themystica.com/mythical-folk/articles/gaea.html)

[Fiamma]

In my understanding, Gaia is the Earth. She was often depicted as an anthropomorphic female being, while her son/husband Ouranos is the sky and an anthropomorphic male. She is a more primal goddess than gods like Zeus, Athena and so on, and I think the younger gods live within her, she doesn't live among them. She is "bigger" and older. At least, that's my impression of her.


I see Gaea as just another one of the gods. (By saying "jsut another", I don't mean that in a way to make her sound insignificant...but saying that I don't see her as "bigger" than the rest, or encompassing the rest. )

The idea from Hesiod's Theogony, that first there was Khaos, and everyhting came from Khaos is starting to make more sense to me lately...though I don't really ponder the origins of the universe very deliberately, as I believe that they don't really matter. But if I had to pin down an answer right now, That's the one that I would say makes the most sense to me.

[Whitewolf]

I believe that Gaia is both the earth itself, and [an individual] goddess. She's one of my favorites and I feel a close connection to her.

[David19]

I see Gaea as just another one of the gods. (By saying "jsut another", I don't mean that in a way to make her sound insignificant...but saying that I don't see her as "bigger" than the rest, or encompassing the rest. )

The idea from Hesiod's Theogony, that first there was Khaos, and everyhting came from Khaos is starting to make more sense to me lately...though I don't really ponder the origins of the universe very deliberately, as I believe that they don't really matter. But if I had to pin down an answer right now, That's the one that I would say makes the most sense to me.

I'm not an Hellenic Pagan, but that's exactly how i view her, i see Gaia as a powerful god, and probably something that is more primal, but that doesn't mean every god is from her, or anything, there are a lot of primal gods and beings out there, Gaia is among them, but not all of them (if that makes any sense).

[Grimr]

Look at the Pelasgian myth of Eurynome.

Many scholars believe that the earth Goddess was predominant in archaic Greece eventually being overthrown by the beliefs of Zeus.

[Fiamma]

Look at the Pelasgian myth of Eurynome.

Many scholars believe that the earth Goddess was predominant in archaic Greece eventually being overthrown by the beliefs of Zeus.


any particular scholars?