Ep 3: Gaia - Creator & Destroyer

... You‘ve heard of Zeus, Apollo and Aphrodite. In  episode 3 we explore the Greek creation story and learn of a divinity who has made the world and has the power to kill gods at her whim.

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner,  Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek history series. The series views these divine beings as if they were anything but mythical...

In this episode we travel waaay back in time, in fact four to five billion years. We meet the being who began time itself, who birthed our world and created the conditions that created life as we now know it.

If you love these podcasts, you'll also enjoy new stories about the gods in Garner's novel Homo Divinitas, now available as an audio book on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

(Musical score includes selections from Fesliyan Studios.)

Transcript

PODCAST #3

THIS IS EPISODE 3 OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. I'M YOUR HOST, MYTHOLOGIST & AUTHOR, PATRICK GARNER. 

TODAY I'M TAKING YOU WAAAY BACK IN TIME, TO A WORLD RULED —NOT BY A PANTHEON OF OLYMPIC GODS — BUT BY A SINGLE, ANCIENT GOD WHO PREDATES THE BIBLICAL GOD & WHO, IN FACT, PREDATES EVERYTHING THAT LIVES.

AND AS ALWAYS, THIS PODCAST SERIES FOCUSES ON ONE THING ...

GREEK GODS, OF COURSE ... & AS DISCUSSED IN EARLIER EPISODES, HERE, IN THIS SERIES, YOU SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF.

WHY? 

BECAUSE HERE THE ANCIENT GODS ARE NOT CONSIDERED IMAGINARY BEINGS. HARDLY. INSTEAD, THEY ARE HERE, NOW ...

WHAT GOD DOES THIS EPISODE FEATURE? ACTUALLY, TO BE PRECISE I SHOULD BE ASKING, 'WHAT GODDESS'?

WE'VE ALL HEARD OF ZEUS AND APOLLO AND MANY OF THE OTHER GREEK DIVINITIES. 

BUT, WAS THERE A GOD BEFORE THEM, SOMEONE BEFORE WHOM EVEN THE OLYMPIC GODS COWERED? 

YES, AND IN THIS EPISODE WE MEET HER.

I'M NOT REFERRING TO ATHENA, OR ARTEMIS, APHRODITE, HERA, HESTIA OR HEKATE. THESE DIVINITIES CAME MUCH LATER. THEY WERE, IN REALITY, THE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN OF THIS GREATER GOD.

IN MOMENTS, I'LL UNVEIL THIS ONCE-FORGOTTEN, BUT MIGHTIEST OF GODDESSES ...

Ω

IN OUR LAST EPISODE WE FOCUSED ON WHY THE GREEK GODS RETREATED FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD. NOW WE FOCUS ON THE ONE GODDESS WHO NEVER RETREATED, WHO NEVER BLINKED ... WHO HAS NEVER VARIED IN HER SINGLE MISSION.

I'VE MENTIONED THAT SHE PREDATES THE GREEK GODS. AND SHE DOES SO BY SEVERAL BILLION YEARS ... YES, THAT'S BILLION, NOT MILLION.

SO, TO UNDERSTAND HER ORIGIN, WE TUMBLE BACK IN TIME. AS I SAID A MOMENT AGO, WE GO WAAAY BACK. 

IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO GRASP THE COMPLEXITIES & POWER OF A BEING WHO COULD SINGLE-HANDEDLY CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR ALL OF LIFE?

WE'LL TRY. AND WE'LL SEE THAT HER DOING SO SPAWNED THE OLYMPIC GODS WHO CAME ALONG LATER.

SCIENTISTS, IF THEY EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE HER PRESENCE, WOULD SAY SHE PRECEDED THE GREEK GODS BY FOUR & A HALF TO FIVE BILLION YEARS  ... 

THAT'S A LOT. IN FACT, IT CORRESPONDS PRECISELY WITH THE AGE OF EARTH ITSELF.  AND THAT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE.

ENCYCLOPEDIAS CALL THIS GODDESS THE ANCESTRAL MOTHER OF ALL LIFE. SO WE HAVE NO CHOICE: WE HAVE TO START WITH HER. 

HAVE YOU GUESSED HER NAME? ... IT'S GAIA. 

GAIA IS SPELLED G-A-I-A, GAIA ... THE GREEKS ALTERNATELY CALLED HER SIMPLY GE, SPELLED, G-E, WHICH IN THE ANCIENT GREEK TONGUE MEANT EARTH OR LAND ...

Ω

WHY IS SHE SO IMPORTANT? BECAUSE SHE CREATED EARTH ITSELF. SHE GAVE BIRTH TO OUR PLANET. AND, INTRIGUINGLY, SHE DID SO WITHOUT A PARTNER.

THERE'S A WORD FOR THIS PHENOMENON. IT'S PARTHENOGENESIS. THAT'S A FANCY ENOUGH WORD THAT WE SHOULD BREAK IT DOWN.

I'LL SAY IT AGAIN: PARTHENOGENESIS ... PARTHENOS IN GREEK MEANS 'OF A VIRGIN,' AND GENESIS MEANS CREATION. 

SO EARTH'S BIRTH THROUGH GAIA WAS, IN EFFECT, THE ORIGINAL VIRGIN BIRTH. 

SOME RELIGIONS MIGHT CAPITALIZE ON THAT & CALL IT A MIRACLE, BUT THE GREEKS DIDN'T TRY TO INFLATE IT INTO SOMETHING THAT IT WASN'T. THEY JUST CALLED IT AS THEY SAW IT.

IT WAS GAIA'S STUNT. OR HER AMAZING FEAT. HOWEVER IT'S DESCRIBED — & WE'LL NEVER FULLY UNDERSTAND — HER MAGIC BEGAN IT ALL.

Ω

WHAT THE ANCIENT GREEKS UNDERSTOOD WAS THAT GAIA WAS A PRIMORDIAL DEITY ... 

PRIMORDIAL? ANOTHER FANCY WORD. IN THIS CASE, PRIMORDIAL REFERS TO 'EXISTING AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME.' 

SAID OTHERWISE, SHE'S THE DEITY THAT PREDATES EVERYTHING ELSE.

FOR THIS REASON, OUR DISCUSSIONS OF INDIVIDUAL GODS BEGIN WITH HER. GAIA WAS THE BEGINNING, THE FIRST — WHAT THE GREEKS WOULD HAVE CALLED THE ALPHA OF ALPHA TO OMEGA. 

SHE WAS THE ORIGINAL, THE REAL THING ...

Ω

FOR YEARS AFTER I LEARNED ABOUT HER, I WONDERED WHAT SHE LOOKED LIKE. NO ANCIENT TEXT EVEN DESCRIBES HER APPEARANCE. 

THEN I HAD AN INSIGHT. THE REASON THE TEXTS ARE SILENT IS THAT SHE NEVER APPEARED BEFORE HUMANS IN HER NATURAL STATE. LIKE ZEUS, SHE COULDN'T. 

REMEMBER, ZEUS WAS THE GOD OF LIGHTNING. IT WAS SAID THAT ANY HUMAN WHO SAW HIM AS ZEUS WOULD BE ... INCINERATED.

INSTEAD, HE WOULD APPEAR BEFORE GREEKS AS A BULL ... OR A SWAN ... AN EAGLE ... A FLAME OF FIRE ... OR EVEN ONCE, WHEN HE SEDUCED A KING'S DAUGHTER, AS A SHOWER OF GOLD COINS ...

ROMANTIC, HUH? NO, BUT THEN ZEUS WASN'T INTO ROMANCE. HE MOSTLY TOOK WHAT HE WANTED.

Ω

GAIA, BY THE WAY, TOLERATED ZEUS AT BEST. HE WAS A BULLY, & SHE NEVER APPROVED OF HOW HE TREATED OTHER GODS. OR HUMANS.

SO GAIA, WHOSE POWERS WERE VASTLY GREATER THAN THOSE OF ZEUS — BY A FACTOR OF THOUSANDS — IS, LIKE ZEUS WAS, IMPOSSIBLE TO VIEW IN HER NATURAL STATE. 

TRYING TO DO SO WOULD BE LIKE STANDING BESIDE OUR SUN FROM 10 FEET AWAY. YOU WOULDN'T LOOK LONG ...

Ω

AND YET, GAIA DID APPEAR TO HUMANS. HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE? ... LIKE ZEUS WAS FORCED TO DO, SHE CHANGED HER APPEARANCE INTO SOMETHING ELSE.

FOR INSTANCE, IN MY TRILOGY, GAIA THOUGHTFULLY APPEARS AS A NINE YEAR OLD GIRL, ALWAYS IN A MODEST DRESS & WITH RIBBONS IN HER HAIR. 

IN THIS GUISE SHE'S ... APPROACHABLE. I'M SURE IF YOU WALKED INTO A ROOM WHERE SHE WAITED, YOU'D FIND HER APPEARANCE TO BE ... CHARMING ...

STILL, WITH ALL HER EFFORTS TO BE APPROACHABLE, SHE'S INTIMIDATING. 

NO ONE'S FOOLED. NO ONE REALLY BELIEVES SHE'S MERELY A YOUNG GIRL ...

BUT AT LEAST THEY CAN VIEW HER WITHOUT TURNING INTO A CINDER ...

Ω

BUT BACK TO OUR CREATION STORY ... 

GAIA CONJURED THE EARTH ON A WHIM. WHAT HAPPENED AFTER SHE CREATED EARTH & THE SKY?

WELL, GAIA TIRED OF DOING EVERYTHING HERSELF. AND IT MUST HAVE OCCURRED TO HER THAT ... IT MIGHT BE AMUSING TO HAVE A PARTNER ...

SO INGENIOUSLY, SHE GRANTED THE NAMELESS SKY THE POWERS OF LIFE. IT HAD BEEN INERT & SUDDENLY BECAME ALIVE. 

SHE CALLED IT URANUS. AND INSTANTLY, IT BECAME A HIM — IN EFFECT, THE FIRST MALE.

BY THE WAY, THE WORD URANUS, LIKE PARTHENOGENESIS, IS DERIVED FROM ANCIENT GREEK. SO MANY OF OUR WORDS ARE.

THE GREEK WORD IN THIS CASE WAS OURANOS, WHICH MEANT HEAVEN OR SKY. 

RECALL THAT SHE CREATED EARTH WITHOUT HELP.  SO I PRESUME, GIVEN THAT SHE DIDN'T NEED A MATE FOR PROCREATION, SHE MADE THE SKY A MALE SIMPLY ... 

WELL, BECAUSE SHE HAD A SENSE OF HUMOR ...

THEN, FROM THEIR SUBSEQUENT UNION, SHE BORE CHILDREN THAT THE GREEKS CALLED TITANIKOS. 

LATER CULTURES CALLED HER CHILDREN SIMPLY, THE TITANS ...

Ω

WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT HER ANCIENT FLINGS? BECAUSE THE TITANS WERE THE PARENTS OF THE FIRST OLYMPIC GODS. 

I SUPPOSE WE CAN SAY THERE WAS A SUCCESSION: THE TITAN'S CHILDREN WERE ZEUS, HADES AND POSEIDON, AND THEY IN TURN WERE FOLLOWED BY DEMETER, HERA & HESTIA. 

IT IS THESE CHILDREN OF THE TITANS, THESE OLYMPIC GODS AND THEIR CHILDREN, WHO WILL POPULATE OUR FUTURE EPISODES.

DIVINE OFFSPRING FROM NUMEROUS AFFAIRS BY ZEUS INCLUDED APHRODITE, ARES, APOLLO, ARTEMIS, ATHENA, HEPHAISTOS AND HERMES.

HAVE I LEFT ANYONE OUT? OF COURSE, DIONYSUS, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE 12th OLYMPIC GOD. AND AS AN ASIDE, I NOTE THAT HE WAS NOT A CHILD OF ZEUS ...

SO, LET'S TRY TO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER: 

IN THE SAME WAY THAT GAIA WAS, IN EFFECT, ZEUS' GRANDMOTHER, THE GREEKS — THAT IS, THE HUMANS WHO INHABITED MUCH OF THE MEDITERRANEAN — BELIEVED THEMSELVES TO BE THE CHILDREN OF THE OLYMPIC GODS. 

PERHAPS BY NOW YOU SEE THE CONNECTION: IN THE MINDS OF THE GREEKS, THERE WAS A DIRECT BLOODLINE. THAT IS, GOD TO MAN, WITH THE GREEKS BEING CHILDREN OF THE GODS.

THE GODS DID NOT RULE THEM ANY MORE THAN PARENTS ARE SAID TO RULE A CHILD. THE KID MAY FEEL THAT WAY, BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC.

SO THE GREEKS BELIEVED THEMSELVES TO BE DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF THE GODS.

AND THE ANCESTRY WAS GLAMOROUS, EXOTIC. IMAGINE INFORMING YOUR FRIENDS THAT YOU'RE A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF THE MIGHTY GODS, THE MIGHTY OLYMPIC GODS. 

THIS BELIEF IS PARTLY WHAT MADE THE GREEKS CONSIDER THEMSELVES SO EXCEPTIONAL.

IN THEIR MYTHOS, THEY WERE THE CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE. AND AS SUCH, GLORY & GREAT THINGS, LIKE THE STARS IN THE NIGHT SKY, SPARKLED IN THEIR EYES.

OF COURSE ... WHEN YOUR ANCESTORS ARE GODS, ANYTHING SEEMS POSSIBLE ...

Ω

BUT HERE, TODAY, OUR FOCUS IS ON GAIA. 

LET'S REVIEW ANCESTRAL STUFF. 

THERE WERE GREEKS, AND BEFORE THEM, OLYMPIC GODS AND GODDESSES. 

THESE OLYMPIANS WERE THE CHILDREN OF THE MIGHTY TITANIKOS, THE TITANS. AGAIN, WHEN REFERRING TO OLYMPIANS, WE'RE REFERRING TO ZEUS, HIS BROTHERS & SISTERS, & ZEUS' CHILDREN.

THEN CONTINUING BACKWARDS EVEN FURTHER, ON OUR WAAAY-BACK MACHINE, THERE WERE THE TITANS THEMSELVES. 

BUT WE CAN'T STOP THERE: WE HAVE TO CONTINUE EVER FURTHER INTO THE MISTS OF TIME ... REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE FATHER OF THE TITANS? 

URANUS.

AND OF COURSE, URANUS WAS CREATED BY GAIA, THE ORIGINAL SOURCE OF IT ALL. 

GAIA WAS NOT ONLY THE CREATOR OF THE EARTH, BUT THE ARCHITECT OF ALL LIFE.

I SHOULD NOTE IN PASSING THAT GAIA BIRTHED OTHERS BESIDES THE TITANS. FOR INSTANCE, SHE WAS MOTHER OF A RACE CALLED THE CYCLOPES, MASSIVE ONE-EYED BEINGS.

THERE WEREN'T MANY OF THEM, BUT ANYONE WHO CAME INTO CONTACT WITH A CYCLOPES FLED. AND WITH GOOD REASON. 

THEY OFTEN LUNCHED ON ANYONE WHO CROSSED THEIR PATH.

IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH HOMER'S ODYSSEY, YOU'LL RECALL THAT ODYSSEUS BLINDS A CYCLOPS NAMED POLYPHEMUS. 

IT'S NOT A PLEASANT MOMENT IN ODYSSEUS' TRAVELS, BUT ALWAYS WILY, HE DOES ESCAPE ...

Ω

I WAS DISCUSSING GAIA'S OTHER CHILDREN ... 

IN ADDITION TO THE TITANS & THE CYCLOPES, SHE BIRTHED A RACE CALLED THE GIANTS. 

THESE WERE COLOSSAL BEINGS WHO EVENTUALLY LOST THEIR LIVES IN AN EPIC BATTLE WITH THE OLYMPIC GODS.

WE CAN THINK OF THIS AS A BATTLE BETWEEN GAIA'S CHILDREN & HER GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. 

THE GREEKS CALLED THIS BATTLE THE GIGANTOMACHIA. GIGANTOMACHIA — THE BATTLE OF GIANTS.  THE FAMOUS HERACLES PLAYED A KEY ROLE, SHOWERING THESE MONSTROUS BEINGS WITH A WHIRLWIND, A STORM OF ARROWS. 

HE IN TURN WAS ACCOMPANIED BY ZEUS, WHO WIELDED THUNDERBOLTS, & DIONYSUS WHO STRUCK THE GIANTS WITH HIS IVY STAFF. IT MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE THE SHOW.

BY THE WAY, NO ONE REPORTS THAT GAIA INTERVENED ... PERHAPS, AS ALMOST ALWAYS, SHE DID NO MORE THAN OBSERVE THE DESTRUCTION OF HER OWN CREATIONS ...

AND WE'LL DISCUSS THIS AT GREATER LENGTH SHORTLY, AS YOU MIGHT CONSIDER HER HANDS-OFF REACTION RATHER ODD. 

AFTER ALL, SHE COULD HAVE SO EASILY INTERVENED ...

Ω

WAS GAIA WORSHIPPED AS A GREAT GODDESS? NO. 

SHE HAD SEVERAL TEMPLES SCATTERED ACROSS GREECE. BUT HER INFLUENCE WAS MORE INDIRECT & IRONICALLY, MORE POWERFUL.

FOR INSTANCE, SHE IS SAID TO HAVE INFLUENCED THE DELPHI PYTHIA, THE WORLD'S MOST-RENOWNED ORACLE.

STORIES VARIED, BUT THE PYTHIA, ALWAYS A WOMAN WHO SPOKE IN TRANCES, WAS NAMED FOR GAIA'S PYTHON, A MASSIVE SNAKE THAT LIVED IN A CREVICE NEARBY. 

SOME SAID THAT APOLLO KILLED THE PYTHON WITH A GOLDEN ARROW, OTHERS THAT IT ENDED ITS LIFE NATURALLY & WAS REPLACED BY A SUCCESSION OF GIRLS WHO WERE SEERS. 

BY 'SEERS,' I MEAN ORACLES WHO PROPHESIED FROM SACRED DELPHI FOR A MILLENNIUM.

Ω

GAIA'S STATUES WERE COMMON, IF NOT PROFUSE.

ONE STOOD ATOP THE ACROPOLIS IN ATHENS. OTHERS WERE FOUND ACROSS GREECE. SHE WAS OFTEN SHOWN IN ASSOCIATION WITH DEMETER, POSEIDON, ZEUS & APOLLO.

THE ROMANS, WHO RENAMED MANY OF THE GREEK GODS, CALLED GAIA TERRA. THAT'S NOT TARA, T-A-R-A, A GIRL'S NAME, BUT RATHER TERRA, T-E-R-R-A.

OF COURSE, FROM TERRA WE DERIVE TERRAIN, TERRITORIAL, TERRA-COTTA, TERRA FIRMA, TERRACE AND OTHER WORDS THAT ALL REFER TO EARTH. 

WAS GAIA PLEASED TO BE RENAMED BY THE ROMANS? I SUSPECT SHE TOLERATED THE ROMANS AT BEST. UNLIKE THE GREEKS, THEY LACKED CREATIVE VISION ... AND INSPIRATION ... 

AND THE ABILITY TO CREATE GREAT ART ... AND GAIA KNEW IT. 

TOO, THE ROMANS ARE NOT KNOWN TO HAVE ERECTED TEMPLES TO GAIA. HER INDISPUTABLE IMPORTANCE TO THE EMPIRE BECAME ECLIPSED BY THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF THE CAESARS. 

NO GOD'S LIGHT WAS ALLOWED TO SHINE BRIGHTER THAN HE WHO RULED. AND TOO, THE ROMANS COULD NOT CLAIM TO BE HER DESCENDANTS. THAT GLORY WAS THE GREEKS' ALONE ...

Ω

YET OVER TIME, THE ROMAN EMPIRE FADED INTO IRRELEVANCE, THEIR INFLUENCE CRUMBLING ... 

THEIR GLORY LASTED A MERE 6 OR 700 YEARS.

MANY EMPIRES ROSE & FELL IN THIS PERIOD. THE GREEKS LOST SWAY, THEN THE ROMANS. THE PERSIAN EMPIRE WAS CRUSHED BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

EGYPT, TOO, FELL UNDER ALEXANDER'S MIGHT. 

EVEN THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE WAS CHANGING. WHAT WE CALL CLIMATE CHANGE RACKED THE ROMAN EMPIRE. AS DID PANDEMICS.

NOTHING WAS STABLE. ALL WAS IN FLUX.

THE NAMES OF GODS CHANGED, VANISHED OR WERE SIMPLY FORGOTTEN. THE IMPERMANENCY OF DIVINITIES WAS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PERISHABILITY OF THESE ONCE MIGHTY KINGDOMS. IN SHORT, NOTHING APPEARED TO LAST. NOT FOR LONG.

AND IN TIME, WITH THE ASCENDANCE OF CHRISTIANITY, AND THEN THE ARMIES OF ISLAM, THE MAJORITY OF HUMANS FORGOT WHAT THEY HAD KNOWN OF THE EARLY GODS. 

AND GAIA, OUR PROTAGONIST? ONLY THE RARE INDIVIDUAL KNEW HER NAME. FOR INSTANCE, THE WORD GAIA DOESN'T EVEN APPEAR IN THE BIBLE OR THE KORAN.

REGARDLESS, GAIA, UNLIKE THE OLYMPIC GODS, NEVER RETREATED. SHE WAS NOT INTIMIDATED. SHE SIMPLY CONTINUED HER WORK ... 

WHEREAS, FOR THE LESSER GODS —THE ZEUSES & APOLLOS — CHRISTIANITY BECAME A SPLENDID EXCUSE TO BOLT. 

Ω

GAIA WAS STEADFAST. YOU SEE, HER GRAND WORK IS & WAS TO MAINTAIN THE EARTH. IN MANY WAYS, SHE'S THE ORIGINAL ENVIRONMENTALIST. 

A STAUNCH DEFENDER OF HER CHILD — THAT IS, EARTH — SHE CONSTANTLY TINKERS WITH ITS PARTS, MAINTAINING A CERTAIN BALANCE, ENSURING CERTAIN ... PARAMETERS ARE MET & PROHIBITING LIFE-THREATENING CHAOS.

A MUST-READ BOOK PUBLISHED A FEW YEARS AGO THAT COVERS THIS ANCIENT PERIOD IS TITLED, "THE FATE OF ROME." 

KYLE HARPER, THE AUTHOR, NOTES THAT ABOUT 12,000 YEARS AGO, EARTH ENTERED AN INTERGLACIAL PERIOD CALLED THE HOLOCENE. THE HOLOCENE IS OUR CURRENT GEOLOGICAL EPOCH.

SCIENTISTS NOW KNOW THAT THE HOLOCENE HAS BEEN A PERIOD OF WHAT HARPER CALLS "SHARP CLIMATE CHANGES." THESE CONSTANT CHANGES HAVE NOT BEEN MANMADE, BUT LARGELY DRIVEN BY SOLAR OUTPUT.

WHAT DO I MEAN BY 'SOLAR OUTPUT'? THE SUN ITSELF GOES THROUGH CONSTANT CYCLES, SOME WARMING EARTH & OTHERS LEAVING IT IN MINI ICE AGES.

THOSE CHANGES HAVE MADE & BROKEN EMPIRES — AS THEY DID ROME. YET, THE CHANGES HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DRAMATIC THAT LIFE ITSELF HAS BEEN THREATENED. 

GAIA HAS NOT ALLOWED DRAMATIC CHANGE. THESE ANCIENT FLUCTUATIONS, MUCH MORE DRAMATIC THAN THOSE WE DECRY TODAY, ALWAYS FALL WITHIN SAFE PARAMETERS. 

THERE'S SOMETHING REASSURING ABOUT KNOWING THAT EVEN WHEN GAIA'S FINGER HAS NOT BEEN DETECTABLE, SHE'S BEEN THERE. 

AND TOTAL EXTINCTION EVENTS HAVE NOT OCCURRED. SPECIES COME & GO, BUT THE ENTIRETY OF LIFE IS NOT ALLOWED TO PERISH.

Ω

THE GREEKS ACKNOWLEDGED HER. THE ROMANS, AT LEAST IN THEIR BEGINNING, RECOGNIZED HER. AND US? HAVE MODERN HUMANS EVEN BEEN AWARE OF GAIA?

JAMES LOVELOCK, A PIONEERING 20TH CENTURY ENGLISH SCIENTIST WHO, TO THE SHOCK OF HIS COLLEAGUES, IN A BOOK HE TITLED "GAIA," WROTE, QUOTE,

"THE ENTIRE RANGE OF LIVING MATTER ON EARTH, FROM WHALES TO VIRUSES AND FROM OAKS TO ALGAE, COULD BE REGARDED AS CONSTITUTING A SINGLE LIVING ENTITY ..."

HE POSTULATED THAT THIS LIVING ENTITY WAS, QUOTE, "CAPABLE OF MAINTAINING THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE TO SUIT ITS OVERALL NEEDS ..." & THAT IT WAS, QUOTE, "ENDOWED WITH FACULTIES AND POWERS FAR BEYOND THOSE OF ITS ... PARTS."

CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT, HE WAS DESCRIBING THE DEVICES OF THE ORIGINAL GODDESS. HE WAS LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF GAIA.

Ω

LOVELOCK WAS NO CRACKPOT. HE WAS A NASA SCIENTIST, INVENTOR & FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 

HE WENT ON TO WRITE A NUMBER OF BOOKS EXPLORING THIS REDISCOVERY.

THROUGH LOVELOCK, CONSCIOUSNESS OF GAIA BEGAN TO RE-EMERGE.

PREDICTABLY, A FEW SCIENTISTS EMBRACED HIS CONCLUSION, WHILE MANY OTHERS CALLED IT AN 'UNPROVEN THEORY' ...

MY OPINION? GAIA HERSELF REMAINS INDIFFERENT TO BEING KNOWN OR UNKNOWN. ALTHOUGH AMUSED. SHE HAS NEVER BEEN A GODDESS WHO DEMANDED VENERATION. 

SHE IS, AS WE MIGHT SAY, THERE ALWAYS ... BUT ALWAYS, TOO, ABOVE IT ALL.

Ω

SO FOR TWO MILLENNIUM, AS HUMANS STRUGGLED THROUGH THE INGLORIOUS DARK AGES & THE SO-CALLED INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, GAIA WAS FORGOTTEN.

LIFE WENT ON. TIME PASSED. THEN, IN A MOMENT OF RARE PERCEPTION — IN THE MIDST OF LATE 20TH CENTURY DEBATES ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE & GLOBAL WARMING, LOVELOCK HAD WHAT WE MIGHT CALL AN ENLIGHTENMENT MOMENT.

YOU SEE, THE ETERNAL NEVER DISAPPEARS FOR LONG.

AFTER BEING LOST OR IGNORED FOR ... TWO THOUSAND YEARS, GAIA RE-EMERGED THROUGH LOVELOCK'S WRITINGS ... 

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IN MY TRILOGY I EXPLORE GAIA'S CONSTANT, QUIET PRESENCE. SHE ASKS LITTLE. SHE TWEAKS, SHE TINKERS ...

SHE ENSURES THAT EARTH HAS THE CORRECT RATIO OF OXYGEN, NITROGEN AND ARGON, THAT ITS AIR IS PRISTINE ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN LIFE ...

IN MY SECOND NOVEL, "CYCLADIC GIRLS," THE NARRATOR EMPHASIZES THAT GAIA DOES NOT FAVOR ONE SPECIES OVER ANOTHER. 

INSTEAD, SHE CARES AS EQUALLY FOR HUMANS AS SHE DOES FOR SPOTTED SALAMANDERS, DEER, COYOTES OR CINNAMON FERN. 

IF ONE SPECIES DISAPPEARS, SHE REMAINS THE STEADFAST MOTHER OF THOSE SPECIES THAT REMAIN.

HER RELATIONSHIP TO ALL LIVING THINGS IS COMPLEX, AND YET TERRIBLY SIMPLE: HER OBSESSION IS NOT WITH HUMANS, BUT WITH LIFE. 

OBSESSION? YES, SHE OBSESSES OVER LIVING THINGS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR POSITION ON WHAT WE FONDLY CALL THE FOOD CHAIN.

IN SHORT, GAIA WATCHES. AND WATCHING, SHE CARES AS MUCH FOR ... A DRAGONFLY AS SHE DID FOR SOCRATES, ZEUS, OR AS SHE DOES FOR THE WISE ATHENA.

SHE PROTECTS THE LIFE FORCE, WHATEVER ITS MANIFESTATION & WHATEVER ITS FORM.

Ω

PERHAPS MY DESCRIPTION OF HER MAKES HER SOUND INSENSITIVE. BUT THE TAKEAWAY REMAINS THAT GAIA IS IMPARTIAL, AND WITHOUT FAVORITES. 

HOW MANY OF US CAN SAY THE SAME?

PERHAPS THE BEST CHARACTERIZATION OF HER IS DISPASSIONATE. UNLIKE ZEUS WHO CONSTANTLY LOST HIS TEMPER, SHE'S ... QUITE CONTENT TO SIMPLY OBSERVE. SHE HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A SCIENTIST.

HER OBSESSION, AS I NOTED EARLIER, IS NOT WITH A PARTICULAR SPECIES, BUT WITH WHAT LIVES ... SHE DOESN'T DIFFERENTIATE. NOT REALLY. 

IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US TO GRASP. WE HAVE SUCH AFFINITY FOR BEINGS WHO LOOK LIKE OURSELVES. IT'S TRUE, ISN'T IT? ...

YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, 'DOESN'T THE HUMAN SPECIES SIT ON TOP OF THE PYRAMID? DON'T WE REPRESENT SORT OF THE PEAK OF EVOLUTION?'

IT SEEMS ALMOST IMMORAL NOT TO FAVOR HUMANS ...

HOMO SAPIENS, HORNED OWLS OR PINE TREES, GAIA DOESN'T CARE. 

YES, WE HUMANS CARE. AS HUMANS WE THINK OF OUR SPECIES AS SURPASSING EVERY OTHER FORM OF LIFE ... OF COURSE!

YET, I SUSPECT WE'RE NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER. 

FOR INSTANCE, SURELY A CROW BELIEVES NOTHING IS SMARTER THAN ANOTHER CROW. GOATS & SALMON & WILD HORSES PROBABLY THINK THE SAME ABOUT THEMSELVES. 

EACH SPECIES THINKS, 'WE'RE THE BEST.' 

AND OBSERVING THEM ALL, GAIA SIMPLY SMILES.

Ω

SUMMARIZING, IT'S SAFE TO CONCLUDE THAT GAIA IS A CLINICIAN ... SHE'S DETACHED. SHE'S CLINICAL ABOUT IT ALL. 

SINCE ALL FORMS OF LIFE FLOWED FROM THE LIFE-FORCE SHE GENERATED SO LONG AGO, SO ALL ARE EQUAL IN HER EYES ...

I USED THE WORD 'IMMORAL' A MOMENT AGO. BUT I THINK THE CORRECT WORD TO DESCRIBE GAIA IS AMORAL. 

THE WORD AMORAL MEANS 'UNCONCERNED WITH RIGHTNESS OR WRONGNESS' ... 

SO IN THAT CONTEXT, GAIA IS AMORAL. SHE DOESN'T DIFFERENTIATE.

IT'S NOT AS IF SHE DOESN'T CARE. SHE DOES. BUT ON HER COSMIC SCALES, ALL THINGS ARE EQUAL.

Ω

SO CAN WE CONCLUDE THAT GAIA IS SORT OF A RELIGIOUS FIGURE?

NOT AT ALL. REMEMBER THAT IN A PREVIOUS EPISODE I SAID THE GREEKS DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A WORD FOR RELIGION?

SO GAIA WAS NOT AS MUCH WORSHIPPED AS HONORED.

ANY ORGANIZED VENERATION OF HER LARGELY ENDED ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT WORSHIP OF THE OLYMPIAN GODS ENDED.

LOVELOCK, THE SCIENTIST, DESCRIBED GAIA AS THE EARTH ITSELF.  AND HE IDENTIFIED THE EARTH AS A LIVING ENTITY. 

I THINK IT WAS THAT DARING DECLARATION WHICH MADE HIS FELLOW SCIENTISTS SQUIRM.

Ω

ALL OF THAT SAID, HOW DOES GAIA FIT INTO THIS TODAY? 

LOVELOCK'S CONCLUSION — WHICH IS MINE — IS THAT SHE TRACKS THE EARTH'S HEARTBEAT AND REGULATES ITS BREATHING. 

SHE INTERVENES ... AND INTERCEDES ... AND ENSURES THAT THE CONDITIONS FOR LIFE NEVER BECOME TOO SKEWED. IF WE'RE HONEST, I THINK WE HAVE TO FIND THAT ASSURING.

SO, SHE WAS FORGOTTEN. BUT THEN SHE WAS FOUND. DID IT MATTER? NO, IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT SHE DIDN'T CARE. HOW COULD SHE?

WHAT HUMANS DID OR DIDN'T DO WAS NOTABLE, BUT ULTIMATELY, NOT IMPORTANT.

Ω

DO ANY OF THE OTHER GREEK GODS COMPARE TO GAIA?

HMM, IT'S SAFE TO SAY 'NO': GAIA IS INCOMPARABLE.

WITHOUT HER ACTIONS IN THE PAST, LIFE AS WE KNOW IT WOULD NOT EXIST ... LIFE MIGHT NOT EXIST.

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OKAY, ADMITTEDLY, THIS HAS BEEN A CRAZY SEGMENT ... I'VE SPENT IT DESCRIBING A BEING WHO CREATED EARTH WITHOUT A PARTNER. 

THE PHENOMENON, NOT ALL THAT RARE IN NATURE, IS CALLED PARTHENOGENESIS, REMEMBER? SHE DID IT ON HER OWN.

THEN, WE SPOKE ABOUT HOW GAIA CREATED A SUCCESSION OF OTHER GODS.

IT'S ALL A BIT BREATH-TAKING. AND IT'S A VASTLY DIFFERENT CREATION STORY THAN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN ONE. THERE, GOD MAKES ALL OF LIFE IN SEVEN DAYS. 

HERE, WE HAVE GAIA. THEY BOTH MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. BUT THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SIMILARITY.

AND I'VE ASKED YOU TO ACCEPT THAT SHE CONTINUES TO ... NUTURE THE ENTIRETY OF LIFE. AND ASSURED YOU THAT ACCLAIMED SCIENTISTS HAVE REACHED THE SAME CONCLUSION.

THINK ABOUT IT NEXT TIME YOU LOOK OVERHEAD. THE SKY IS URANUS, AND THE SKY'S CREATOR IS GAIA.

THEN LOOK AROUND YOU: EVERY LIVING THING OWES ITS ORIGIN TO HER INTELLIGENCE. AND HER INDULGENCE. 

AND HER ANCIENT DECISION TO MAINTAIN EARTH WITHIN PARAMETERS THAT MAINTAIN LIFE ...

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IN OUR NEXT EPISODE, WE'LL DISCUSS ZEUS, THE FIRST OF THE OLYMPIC GODS.

JOIN ME ... FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. THIS IS YOUR HOST, PATRICK GARNER ...