Gaea: Greek Goddess

Gaea is a primordial goddess that existed before any of the other gods and goddesses. She is considered to be the creator of all things, and was created by Chaos.

Gaia

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Gaea (Gaia) was the wife of Uranus and the mother of Cronos. She prodded Cronos to castrate his father, because she was angry that Uranus had imprisoned her children the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires in her womb. Cronos castrated and killed Uranus, who prophesied that Cronos’ own children would rise up against him. Cronos imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires in Tartarus, angering Gaea and forcing her to take sides with Zeus when he overthrew Cronos.

However, Zeus imprisoned her Titan sons again, so Gaea tried to take revenge. She bore a son named Typhon with Tartarus, which became a monster storm giant, and she birthed a race of giants. They rose up to overthrow Zeus, but were defeated. Gaea then prophesied that Zeus would be overthrown by one of his children, so when Metis was pregnant, he swallowed her to keep her from birthing a child. He was overcome with a headache so terrible that he asked Hephaestus to split his head open. Out of his skull leapt a tall woman in armor, Athena. She became the goddess of wisdom and strategy.

Antaeus was another of Gaea 's sons and he challenged everyone he met to a wrestling match. As long as he was in contact with Gaea - that is, touching the ground - he was undefeatable. Heracles killed him by lifting Antaeus off the ground and crushing him in his arms.

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Gaia / Gaea Quick Reference

Parents

None

Domain / Power

Goddess of the Earth, Mother of All Creation

Notable Myths

• Union with Uranus
• Overthrow of Cronos
• Revenge on Zeus

Symbol / Attributes

Fruits and Trees