Gaia

The Goddess of the Earth and life.

Blessings

Gaia’s blessing is life. All things that draw breath and nourishment, and have their homes upon the earth, do so through her. Every plant, animal, bird, fish, tree, rock is special to her. But that kind of love is impersonal. Because she cares for all things, she must consider what is best for the overall balance. And so the herd of gazelle is thinned out by the lion, because otherwise they would eat up all their food and starve to death. From the perspective of the individual gazelle this can seem cruel and uncaring – but when seen within the larger picture, we see that she does nothing needlessly, or overly cruel.

God Of

Primary Cult Centers

  • Delphi

Epithets

  • Kourotrophos – Nourisher of Children
  • Physis – Nature

Symbols

Fruit, cornocopiae

Animals

All of them

Sacrifices

Any grain, flowers, or plants, except for beans and aromatic herbs

Festivals

  • Earth Day (21 April) Modern festival
  • Genesios (5 Boedromion (September-October)) .

Ways to honor

The best way to honor Gaia is to care for the natural world. Clean up pollution, protect wildlife, donate time and money to ecological concerns. Recycle. Buy wholesome foods that are made without pesticides or come without all the extra packaging. Conserve energy. Carpool or walk instead of driving. Be mindful of how your actions will affect the rest of the world.

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Articles

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Ancient Hymns and Texts

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Modern Hymns and Devotions

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Primary Sources

  • Apollodorus’ Library 1.1.1-5, 1.2.1, 1.2.6, 1.3.6, 1.5.2, 1.6.1-3, 2.1.2, 2.5.11, 3.8.1
  • Hesiod’s Theogony 116-187, 233-239, 459-497, 820-822, 881-885
  • Homer’s Odyssey 11.576
  • Homeric Hymn to Earth, Mother of All 30
  • Hyginus’ Fabulae 203
  • Pausanias’ Description of Greece 1.2.6, 1.14.3, 5.14.10, 7.25.13, 8.25.8-10, 10.5.6, 10.6.6
  • Pindar’s Pythian Odes 9.59-65

Links

Modern Books

Gaia