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Gaia (mythology) facts for kids

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Gaia
Primordial Deity of the Earth
Member of the Protogenoi
Abode Earth
Personal information
Consort Uranus, Pontus, Aether and Tartarus
Offspring Uranus, Pontus, the Ourea, Hecatonchires, Cyclopes, Titans, The Gigantes, Nereus, Thaumus, Phorcys, Ceto, Eurybia, Aergia, Typhon, and Python
Parents None, or Chaos (Hesiod), or Aether and Hemera (Hyginus)
Siblings None, or Nyx, Erebus, Tartarus, Eros, or Uranus, Thalassa
Roman equivalent Terra, Tellus

Gaia (Ancient Greek: Γαῖα), also spelled Gaea, is the personification of the Earth in Greek mythology. She was a primordial being, one of the first to have sprung forth from the void of Chaos. She is the mother and wife of Ouranos (Father Sky), with whom she sired the Titans, the Hekatonkheires, and the Elder Cyclopes. Other children of Gaia include Pontus (the sea), and the storm giant Typhon. Her Roman equivalent is Terra.

Family tree

Gaia is the goddess of the Earth and these are her offspring as related in various myths. Some are related consistently, some are mentioned only in minor variants of myths, and others are related in variants that are considered to reflect a confusion of the subject or association.

In the book by Rick Riordan, Heroes of Olympus, Gaea is the main evil goddess directing the downfall of the Gods of Mt. Olympus. Gaea is seen torturing the main characters such as Leo Valdez, whose mother she killed, and Piper McLean whose father she took in ransom for the death of her friends. She enters the main character of Rick Riordan's second book of the series Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune, Percy Jackson's dreams telling him to join her, but Percy refuses her urging. Gaea is revealed to be sleeping and the most powerful of all Greek gods, and in a dream Aphrodite warns Piper that should Gaea awaken they are all doomed, and in a short moment, Medea tells Piper that her patron (Medea's patron) is an enemy they can't "even begin to challenge" referring to Gaea. It is also revealed that Gaea needs the blood of a female and male demigod in The Mark of Athena to rise, which she does in The Blood of Olympus and then attempts to destroy the demigods, before being defeated by Leo and Jason Grace.

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Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Gea para niños

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