Unit:
Specialty Greek and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology: From the Bronze Age Palaces to the Hellenistic KingdomsLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Author:
Bakatselou Jennifer
Supervisors info:
Eurydice Kefalidou, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, Department of History and Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Dimitris Plantzos, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Department of History and Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Stylianos Katakis, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, Department of History and Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Original Title:
Creator, Schemer, Nurturer, Deceiver: The Case of Gaia as Cultural Continuum in Greek Myth and Iconography
Translated title:
Creator, Schemer, Nurturer, Deceiver: The Case of Gaia as Cultural Continuum in Greek Myth and Iconography
Summary:
This thesis is an analysis and assessment of the myth and iconography of the Greek goddess Gaia (Γαĩα, Γῆ, Gê) Mother/Earth with primary focus on the Archaic and Classical period. In Greek literature as the central protagonist in the myth of origins and goddess of fertile prosperity, over time, Gaia’s role in the Greek world becomes marginalized. In the cultic sphere, the veneration of the goddess also diminishes, yet the myth and iconography of Gaia continues on to live such a lengthy time period.
Gaia’s myth and iconography and its association within the historical framework of the 6th-4th c BCE Athens as a primordial divinity and the foundation of ancestral power is symbolic as Athens evolves into a great city state. After the 4th c. BCE even though her importance is minimized and her cultic role in Athens diminishes, I argue she continues to be characterized in myth and iconography as the dualistic embodiment of nature vs. nurture, of rule and order/chaos and disorder, and as a foundation for which the other gods and goddesses appear in the continuum of fertile prosperity in the urban setting.
To compare, I examine the importance of inclusion of Gaia in iconography within the historical context and framework of the development of the new city state of Athens in the 6th-4thth c BCE with the evidence of its literary works in conjunction with the epigraphical, iconographical and archaeological evidence of Gaia’s myth, cult and iconography within this time frame. I also apply anthropological theory as an approach on how to view Gaia’s myth and iconography within its historical context. I also give attention to Gaia’s depth and breadth of influence and changing role in antiquity.
What is the significance of fertility within the framework of a developing Athens city state? Why do we not have abundant evidence for Gaia’s cult yet her influence in myth and iconography appear for such a lengthy amount of time? These are some of the questions and objectives I explore in this thesis.
I conclude that Gaia, as the personification of Earth, is a case of cultural continuum. Due to the natural landscape in which she is associated with that continues to endure, more so than man made monuments, Gaia is a foundation for memory preservation of the old ways in both iconography and myth. I argue that the role of Gaia in Greek cult and her place in the cultic sphere alongside the dichotomy of her cultural continuum in myth and iconography was a result of urbanization and social reforms, both to preserve memory and introduce more urban icons and images of fertility, power, and victory.
Main subject category:
Archaeology
Keywords:
Gaia, Ge, cultural continuum, mythology, iconography, greek religion, cult, archaeology, visual culture
