Gaia

About Gaia

In Greek mythology, Gaia (/ˈɡeɪə, ˈɡaɪə/;[2] Ancient Greek: Γαῖα, romanized: Gaîa, a poetic form of Γῆ (Gê), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),[3] also spelled Gaea (/ˈdʒiːə/),[2] is the personification of Earth.[4] 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.[5] The Greek name Γαῖα (Gaia Ancient Greek: [ɡâi̯.a] or [ɡâj.ja]) is a mostly epic, collateral form of Attic Γῆ (Gē [ɡɛ̂ː]), and Doric Γᾶ (Ga [ɡâː]),[3] perhaps identical to Δᾶ (Da [dâː]),[6] both meaning "Earth". Some scholars believe that the word is of uncertain origin.[7] Beekes suggested a probable Pre-Greek origin.[8] M.L.West derives the name from the Indo-European from *dʰéǵʰōm (earth). Greek: gaia (<*gm-ya), chamai (χαμαί) on the earth, Hittite: tekan, Tocharian: tkam, Phrygian zemelo, Proto-Slavonic:*zem-yã, Avestan: za (locative: zemi), Vedic: ksam, Latin: hum-us, Albanian: dhé.[9]