Gaia (Gea) is a goddess of Greek mythology who personifies the Mother Earth . The legend of the creation of Gea is therefore that of the creation of the Earth, which originated thanks to its creation of the Bing Bang of life. Let's get to know Gaia's myth better.
Gaia fathered several children with Uranus, but it was Cronos who was able to free the goddess by facing her father, cutting her testicles and throwing them into the sea, where Aphrodite was born. This goddess was also the one who convinced Rhea to deceive Cronos, who used to eat her children, giving her a stone. That was how Zeus could survive.
Who is Gaia?
The Teogon a of Hes odo relates that after the chaos Gaia arose, that of the broad chest. This goddess was for a long time the most beautiful goddess, until Ourea was born, begotten by Gea, with the intention of driving away the gods that harassed her, like Nix and Erebo.
In the beginning, there were three gods: Gaia, Chaos and Eros. By force of Eros the goddess began to give birth on her own and without the need for a variety of gods and creatures to populate the world.
Then, Gaia joined Uranus, the god of Heaven, one of his children, who systematically raped her and ended up populating the rest of the world. Until Gaia got tired and decided to ask for help.
Uranus begat Gea to the Titans, the Cyclops and the Hecatonchires, Echidna, and Thetis. It is believed that Uranus and Gea had these children because of a curse of Chaos, for he gave the order to reproduce. It is said that Gea and Uranus had some resemblance to the monsters, because they were the result of the reproduction of a son with his mother.
When Uranus sent his children to Tartarus, Gea released them. However, the Cyclops and the Hecatonchires became jealous of the gods and Gaia had to lock them in the underworld forever .
Gaia had the help of the Titans, but it was Cronos who could finally face his father Uranus and cut his testicles with a sickle that his mother gave him, threw them into the sea, where Venus (Aphrodite) was born and from the blood from God came the Giants, the Melias and the Erinias.
It was thus that Cronos took power and locked his father in hell. According to the myth of Gaia, like Uranus, he would be replaced by a son, so Cronos swallowed his children as they were born.
Rea, the wife of Cronos, heard Gea's idea and gave her husband a stone instead of her last child. This is how Zeus survived, who was raised in secret. This great god was the one who freed his brothers from his father's stomach, Cronos .
Representation of the myth of Gaia
The goddess Gaia is represented today as a very large pregnant woman, with great beauty . Some show her as an old woman full of trees, but full of life, as is the Earth.
In classical art, Gea was represented in two different ways . In the vessels of Athens she shows herself as an old woman, half raised from the ground, where the baby Erictonio offers to Athena, to raise him. Later, the goddess is represented as a woman reclining on the earth, surrounded by the Karpoi, gods of the fruits of the earth.
At one time, the worship of the Mother Goddess disappeared . An example of this is the myth of Hercules, who had to fight Anteo, son of Gea. Hercules discovers that his opponent is unbeatable, because every time he falls to the ground, he contacts Gaia and regains his strength. Hercules throws him into the air and strangles him. Thus, the patriarchal religions tried to put the goddess Gaia as the evil one in history.
Seen at Carlos Suárez Estudio, by Pedro, editor of the White Brotherhood
http://carlossuarezestudio.wixsite.com/mitologia-griega/gaia-gea
