Gaia ( /ˈɡeɪ.ə/ or /ˈɡaɪ.ə/; from Ancient Greek Γαῖα, a poetical form of Γῆ, "land" or "earth"; also Gaea, or Ge) was the goddess or personification of Earth in ancient Greek religion, one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods, the Titans and the Giants were born from her union with Uranus (the sky), while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus (the sea).

Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra.

The Greek word "γαῖα" (trans. as gaia or gaea) is a collateral form of "γῆ" (gē, Doric "γά" - ga and probably "δᾶ" da) meaning Earth, a word of unknown origin. In Mycenean Greek Ma-ka (trans. as Ma-ga: Mother Gaia) contains also the root ga-.

Hesiod's Theogony (116ff) tells how, after Chaos, Gaia (i.e. Earth) arose as the everlasting foundation of the gods of Olympus. Gaia brought forth Uranus, the starry sky, her equal, to cover her, the hills (Ourea), and the fruitless deep of the Sea, Pontus, "without sweet union of love," out of her own self through parthenogenesis. Alternatively, Uranus was sired by Aether, the god of heavenly light and the upper air. Afterwards, as Hesiod tells it,

John Lamb Lash (born 1945) is an American author and scholar (comparative mythologist).

He is author of a number of books including The Seeker's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Spiritual Pathfinding (Crown, 1991), Twins and the Double (Thames & Hudson, 1993), The Hero - Manhood and Power (Thames & Hudson, 1995), Quest for the Zodiac (Starhenge Books, 1999) and Not in His Image (Chelsea Green Publishing Company , 2006) . His work has focuses on Gnosticism and the myth of Sophia.