Forme e strutture del culto di Gaia nel mondo greco
In: Archeologia Classica: 63, 2012
Permalink: http://digital.casalini.it/2634752
The cult of Gaia in the Greek world presents specific forms, structures and values whose peculiarities can be outlined through methodical analysis of its sources on the basis of which, between literature and epigraphy, we can reconstruct epiclesis, places of worship, feasts and rituals heterogeneously distributed from the West to the Anatolian region, beginning from the sixth century B.C. up to the second century A.D. Usually considered a complementary figure, the goddess seems to be related to two areas: oracular practices and fertility. The absence of monumental archeological structures is significant and could point to the very essence of this cult which, according to the documents, may have been celebrated in natural landscapes such as caves, springs or rocky plains. Far from an evanescent figure, Gaia is a primordial divinity symbolizing the ancestral power of the earth, revealing herself, through natural springs, as a concrete object of veneration.