Gaia
In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of (), meaning 'land' or 'earth'), also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (Sky), from whose sexual union she bore the Titans (themselves parents of many of the Olympian gods), the Cyclopes, and the Giants; as well as of Pontus (Sea), from whose union she bore the primordial sea gods. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra. Etymology The Greek name Γαῖα (Gaia or ) is a mostly epic, collateral form of Attic (Gē ), and Doric (Ga ), perhaps identical to (Da ), both meaning "Earth". The word is of uncertain origin. Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek origin. In Mycenean Greek Ma-ka (transliterated as Ma-ga, "Mother Gaia") also contains the root ga-. Mythology Hesiod Birth of Gaia, Uranus, and the Titans Hesiod's Theogony tells how, after Chaos, "wide-bosomed" Gaia (Earth) arose to be the everlasting seat of the immortals who possess Olympus above. And after Gaia came "dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth", and next Eros the god of love. Hesiod goes on to say that Gaia brought forth her