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103-804: During the Middle Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea began to separate into Laurasia and Gondwana , and the Atlantic Ocean formed. Eastern Laurasia was tectonically active as the Cimmerian plate continued to collide with Laurasia's southern coast, completely closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean . A subduction zone on the coast of western North America continued to create the Ancestral Rocky Mountains .Significant subduction zones were active along practically all of

206-625: A double shrine of "Ge-Kourotrophos" and "Demeter-Chloe" on the Acropolis. Near the Olympieion of Athens there was the temenos of Ge-Olympia. Thucydides mentions that it was among the oldest sanctuaries built in Athens, where the Deucalion flood took place. A chthonic ritual was performed in Athens in honour of Ge. The Genesia was a mourning festival in the month Broedromion. A sacrifice

309-575: A flat disk with a wide extent. The earth-goddess can be identified with the nymph "Plataia" (broad one) in Plataea of Boeotia as the spouse of Zeus. Homer uses the form "eureia chthon " (broad earth). Hesiod speaks for the broad-breasted earth, ("eurysternos") the sure seat of all immortals. The same epithet appears in her cults at Delphi and Aegae in Achaea. In the Homeric hymn her conception

412-530: A gift. It is said that he gave to Poseidon Calaureia , that lies off Troezen , in exchange for his oracle. Apollo is the best-known as the oracle power behind Delphi, long established by the time of Homer, having killed Gaia's child Python there and usurped the chthonic power. Hera punished Apollo for this by sending him to King Admetus as a shepherd for nine years. Gaia or Ge had at least three sanctuaries in Greece which were mentioned by Pausanias . There

515-474: A gravestone in Potidaia mentions: " Aether receives the souls and "chthon" receives the bodies". According to Plutarch: " The name of Ge is beloved to every Greek and she is traditionally honoured like any other god": Hesiod 's Theogony tells how, after Chaos , "wide-bosomed" Gaia (Earth) arose to be the everlasting seat of the immortals who possess Olympus above. And after Gaia came "dim Tartarus in

618-408: A northward direction, separating it from Antarctica and allowing complete oceanic circulation around Antarctica for the first time. This motion, together with decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, caused a rapid cooling of Antarctica and allowed glaciers to form. This glaciation eventually coalesced into the kilometers-thick ice sheets seen today. Other major events took place during

721-655: A poetic form of Γῆ ( Gê ), meaning 'land' or 'earth'), also spelled Gaea ( / ˈ dʒ iː ə / ), is the personification of Earth . Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic —of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (Sky), from whose sexual union she bore the Titans (themselves parents of many of the Olympian gods ), the Cyclopes , and the Giants , as well as of Pontus (Sea), from whose union she bore

824-447: A premilinary offering among other gods. Ge was associated with the dead at Mykonos. Seven black lambs were offered to "Zeus Chthonios" and "Ge-Chthonia" in the month Lenaion. The worshippers were offered to feast at the place of worship. At Sparta Gaia was worshipped together with Zeus. There was a double shrine of "Ge" and "Zeus Agoraios" (of the market place). Gaia has several epithets and attributes. In poetry chthon frequently has

927-430: A reward, for Athena's sake. Gaia also turned the young Libanus into rosemary when he was killed by impious people. Zeus hid Elara , one of his lovers, from Hera by stowing her under the earth. His son by Elara, the giant Tityos , is therefore sometimes said to be a son of Gaia, the earth goddess. Gaia also made Aristaeus immortal. It seems that the worship of the "earth" was indigenous in Greece. However it

1030-489: A sacred well was used for predicting the cause of diseases. At Athens Ge acquired the cult-title Themis . Themis was an oracular goddess related to Ge and she was not originally interpreted as goddess of righteousness. The cult of Gaia was probably indigenous in Attica. In the cult of Phlya , Pausanias reports that there were altars to Dionysos, certain nymphs and to Ge, whom they called the "great goddess". The Great goddess

1133-534: A similar myth, in which Aphrodite fled from her lustful father Zeus , who was infatuated with her. As Zeus was unable to catch Aphrodite, he gave up and dropped his semen on the ground, which impregnated Gaia. This resulted in the birth of the Cyprian Centaurs . Gaia resented the way Zeus had treated her children, the Titans , so she brought forth the Gigantes to fight Zeus. It was prophesied that

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1236-612: A single chain, the Central Pangean Mountains . Fossil evidence for Pangaea includes the presence of similar and identical species on continents that are now great distances apart. For example, fossils of the therapsid Lystrosaurus have been found in South Africa , India and Antarctica , alongside members of the Glossopteris flora, whose distribution would have ranged from the polar circle to

1339-590: Is "the Great goddess", which is an appellation of the "Mother of the gods". She is related to the mystery cult of Phlya which seems to be original. At Athens Gaia had the cult-title Themis . In the Ashmolean Museum a vase shows Pandora (all-giving) rising from the earth and according to some scholars she may be identified with Gaia . "Anesidora" (sending up gifts) on a vase in the British Museum

1442-529: Is a speculation and controversial in the academic community. Some modern mythographers, including Kerenyi , Ruck , and Staples , interpret the goddesses Demeter the "mother", Persephone the "daughter", and Hecate the "crone", as aspects of a former great goddess identified by some as Rhea or as Gaia herself. In Crete , a goddess was worshipped as Potnia Theron (the "Mistress of the Animals") or simply Potnia ("Mistress"), speculated as Rhea or Gaia;

1545-448: Is an epithet of Gaia. Traditionally "gaia" means "earth" and chthon , "under or "beneath the earth" however chthon has occasionally the same meaning with the earth. Pherecydes uses the name Chthonie for the primeval goddess who later became Ge and Musaeus the same name for the oracular goddess of Delphi. Homer uses the for chthon the epithets "euryodeia" (broad-seated) and "polyvoteira" (all-nourishing) which can also be used for

1648-711: Is currently on a collision course with eastern Asia . Both Australia and India are currently moving northeast at 5–6 centimeters (2–3 in) per year. Antarctica has been near or at the South Pole since the formation of Pangaea about 280 Ma. India started to collide with Asia beginning about 35 Ma, forming the Himalayan orogeny and closing the Tethys Ocean; this collision continues today. The African Plate started to change directions, from west to northwest toward Europe, and South America began to move in

1751-404: Is derived from Ancient Greek pan ( πᾶν , "all, entire, whole") and Gaia or Gaea ( Γαῖα , " Mother Earth , land"). The first to suggest that the continents were once joined and later separated may have been Abraham Ortelius in 1596. The concept that the continents once formed a contiguous land mass was hypothesised, with corroborating evidence, by Alfred Wegener , the originator of

1854-531: Is doubtful if the mother-religion is rooted to the Pre-Greek population. In classical times Ge was not an important deity and she didn't have any festivals. She was usually honoured together with other gods or goddesses. Local cults of Gaia are rare and only some of them can be mentioned from the existing evidence. Elements of a primitive cult of Gaia appear at Dodona in Epirus. It seems that in an old religion

1957-503: Is drinking bull's blood. Any woman who may chance not to speak the truth is immediately punished as a result of this test. If several women compete for the priesthood, lots are cast for the honor. Pausanias also mention the sanctuary of Ge Gasepton in Sparta , and a sanctuary of Ge Kourotrophe (Nurse of the Young) at Athens. Aside from her temples, Gaia had altars as well as sacred spaces in

2060-534: Is identical for all contemporaneous samples, can be subtracted, leaving the portion that shows continental drift and can be used to help reconstruct earlier continental latitudes and orientations. Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent reconstructed from the geologic record and therefore is by far the best understood. The formation of supercontinents and their breakup appears to be cyclical through Earth's history. There may have been several others before Pangaea. Paleomagnetic measurements help geologists determine

2163-540: Is interpreted as "Mother of the gods" who is a form of Gaia. It seems that a mystery-cult was related to the Great-goddess. An inscription on the Acropolis of Athens refers to the practice of service in honour of "Ge-Karpophoros" (bringer of fruits) in accordance with the oracle. The oracle was probably Delphic. A sanctuary on the Acropolis was the "Kourotrophion", and the earlier inscriptions mentions simply "The Kourotrophos" (nourisher of children). Pausanias mentions

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2266-508: Is more clear and detailed. She is the Mother of the Gods, the goddess that brings forth life and blesses men with children. She is called "pammе̄tōr", the all-mother who nourishes everything. This conception is closer to the popular belief. In the hymn to Apollo she is called "pheresvios" (life giving) The "mother of the gods" is a form of Gaia. According to Pausanias an epithet of Ge in Athens

2369-496: Is one of the key periods in the history of life on Earth. Many groups, including dinosaurs and mammals , diversified during this time. During this time, marine life (including ammonites and bivalves ) flourished. Ichthyosaurs , although common, are reduced in diversity; the top marine predators, the pliosaurs , grew to the size of killer whales and larger (e.g. Pliosaurus , Liopleurodon ). Plesiosaurs became common at this time, and metriorhynchids first appeared. In

2472-418: Is the mother of all in a philosophical poetic thought. "Gaia receives the drops of rain bearing the mortals and bearing food and beasts, therefore she is rightly called "mother of all". Aether of Zeus bears men and gods. Everything which is born by the earth returns to the earth, and everything born from aether returns to the sky. Nothing is destroyed, but it is transformed to another form.". An inscription on

2575-741: The Caledonian orogeny . As Avalonia inched towards Laurentia, the seaway between them, a remnant of the Iapetus Ocean, was slowly shrinking. Meanwhile, southern Europe broke off from Gondwana and began to move towards Euramerica across the Rheic Ocean . It collided with southern Baltica in the Devonian. By the late Silurian, Annamia ( Indochina ) and the South China Craton split from Gondwana and moved northward, shrinking

2678-668: The Carboniferous covered the southern end of Pangaea. Glacial deposits, specifically till , of the same age and structure are found on many separate continents that would have been together in the continent of Pangaea. The continuity of mountain chains provides further evidence, such as the Appalachian Mountains chain extending from the southeastern United States to the Scandinavian Caledonides of Europe; these are now believed to have formed

2781-472: The Early Cretaceous . The opening of the Tethys Ocean also contributed to the warming of the climate. The very active mid-ocean ridges associated with the breakup of Pangaea raised sea levels to the highest in the geological record, flooding much of the continents. The expansion of the temperate climate zones that accompanied the breakup of Pangaea may have contributed to the diversification of

2884-527: The Iapetus Ocean and Paleoasian Ocean. Most of these landmasses coalesced again to form the relatively short-lived supercontinent Pannotia, which included large areas of land near the poles and a small strip connecting the polar masses near the equator. Pannotia lasted until 540  Ma , near the beginning of the Cambrian and then broke up, giving rise to the continents of Laurentia, Baltica, and

2987-840: The Jurassic , completely closing the Proto-Tethys Ocean. By the Early Permian , the Cimmerian plate split from Gondwana and moved towards Laurasia, thus closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and forming the Tethys Ocean in its southern end. Most of the landmasses were all in one. By the Triassic , Pangaea rotated a little, and the Cimmerian plate was still travelling across the shrinking Paleo-Tethys until

3090-759: The Middle Jurassic . By the Late Triassic , the Paleo-Tethys had closed from west to east, creating the Cimmerian Orogeny . Pangaea, which looked like a C , with the Tethys Ocean inside the C , had rifted by the Middle Jurassic. Pangaea existed as a supercontinent for 160 million years, from its assembly around 335 Ma (Early Carboniferous) to its breakup 175 Ma (Middle Jurassic). During this interval, important developments in

3193-571: The Triassic–Jurassic extinction event . These events resulted in disaster fauna showing little diversity and high cosmopolitanism, including Lystrosaurus , which opportunistically spread to every corner of Pangaea following the Permian–Triassic extinction event. On the other hand, there is evidence that many Pangaean species were provincial , with a limited geographical range, despite the absence of geographical barriers. This may be due to

Middle Jurassic - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-895: The Urkontinent . Wegener used the name "Pangaea" once in the 1920 edition of his book, referring to the ancient supercontinent as "the Pangaea of the Carboniferous". He used the Germanized form Pangäa , but the name entered German and English scientific literature (in 1922 and 1926, respectively) in the Latinized form Pangaea , especially during a symposium of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in November 1926. Wegener originally proposed that

3399-453: The primordial sea gods . Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra . The Greek name Γαῖα ( Gaia Ancient Greek : [ɡâi̯.a] or [ɡâj.ja] ) is a mostly epic, collateral form of Attic Γῆ ( Gē [ɡɛ̂ː] ), and Doric Γᾶ ( Ga [ɡâː] ), perhaps identical to Δᾶ ( Da [dâː] ), both meaning " Earth ". Some scholars believe that

3502-456: The scientific theory of continental drift , in three 1912 academic journal articles written in German titled Die Entstehung der Kontinente ( The Origin of Continents ). He expanded upon his hypothesis in his 1915 book of the same title, in which he postulated that, before breaking up and drifting to their present locations, all the continents had formed a single supercontinent that he called

3605-411: The tritylodonts and mammals. Mammals remained quite small, but were diverse and numerous in faunas from around the world. Tritylodonts were larger, and also had an almost global distribution. The first crown-group mammals appeared in the late Early Jurassic. A group of cynodonts, the trithelodonts , were becoming rare and eventually became extinct at the end of this epoch. Conifers were dominant in

3708-680: The Cenozoic, including the opening of the Gulf of California , the uplift of the Alps , and the opening of the Sea of Japan . The break-up of Pangaea continues today in the Red Sea Rift and East African Rift . The breakup of Pangaea was accompanied by outgassing of large quantities of carbon dioxide from continental rifts. This produced a Mesozoic CO 2 high that contributed to the very warm climate of

3811-560: The Cretaceous when Laurasia started to rotate clockwise and moved northward with North America to the north, and Eurasia to the south. The clockwise motion of Laurasia led much later to the closing of the Tethys Ocean and the widening of the "Sinus Borealis", which later became the Arctic Ocean . Meanwhile, on the other side of Africa and along the adjacent margins of east Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar , rifts formed that led to

3914-626: The Cyclopes and Hecatonchires were born, Uranus hid them in a secret place within Gaia, causing her great pain. So Gaia devised a plan. She created a grey flint (or adamantine ) sickle. And Cronus used the sickle to castrate his father Uranus as he approached his mother, Gaia, to have sex with her. From Uranus' spilled blood, Gaia produced the Erinyes , the Giants , and the Meliae (ash-tree nymphs). From

4017-663: The Early Cretaceous, Atlantica , today's South America and Africa, separated from eastern Gondwana. Then in the Middle Cretaceous, Gondwana fragmented to open up the South Atlantic Ocean as South America started to move westward away from Africa. The South Atlantic did not develop uniformly; rather, it rifted from south to north. Also, at the same time, Madagascar and Insular India began to separate from Antarctica and moved northward, opening up

4120-465: The Gigantes, who were born from Uranus's blood, could not be killed by the gods alone, but they could be killed with the help of a mortal. Hearing this, Gaia sought for a certain plant that would protect the Gigantes even from mortals. Before Gaia or anyone else could get it, Zeus forbade Eos (Dawn), Selene (Moon) and Helios (Sun) to shine, harvested all of the plant himself, and had Athena summon

4223-623: The Indian Ocean. Madagascar and India separated from each other 100–90 Ma in the Late Cretaceous. India continued to move northward toward Eurasia at 15 centimeters (6 in) per year (a plate tectonic record), closing the eastern Tethys Ocean, while Madagascar stopped and became locked to the African Plate . New Zealand , New Caledonia and the rest of Zealandia began to separate from Australia, moving eastward toward

Middle Jurassic - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-474: The Jurassic seas, a wide range of animals swam. Cartilaginous and bony fish were plentiful. Large fish and marine reptiles were plentiful. Many of the major groups of dinosaurs emerged during the Middle Jurassic, (including cetiosaurs , brachiosaurs , megalosaurs and primitive ornithopods ). Descendants of the therapsids , the cynodonts , were still flourishing along with the dinosaurs. These included

4429-497: The Middle Jurassic. Other plants , such as ginkgoes , cycads , and ferns were also common. Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea ( / p æ n ˈ dʒ iː ə / pan- JEE -ə ) was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana , Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million years ago, and began to break apart about 200 million years ago, at

4532-671: The Pacific and opening the Coral Sea and Tasman Sea . The third major and final phase of the break-up of Pangaea occurred in the early Cenozoic ( Paleocene to Oligocene ). Laurasia split when Laurentia broke from Eurasia, opening the Norwegian Sea about 60–55 Ma. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans continued to expand, closing the Tethys Ocean. Meanwhile, Australia split from Antarctica and moved quickly northward, just as India had done more than 40 million years before. Australia

4635-938: The Proto-Tethys Ocean and opening the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to the south. In the Devonian Gondwana moved towards Euramerica, causing the Rheic Ocean to shrink. In the Early Carboniferous , northwest Africa had touched the southeastern coast of Euramerica, creating the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, the Meseta Mountains , and the Mauritanide Mountains , an event called the Variscan orogeny . South America moved northward to southern Euramerica, while

4738-542: The Roman equivalent of Gaia), Caelus (Sky, the Roman equivalent of Uranus) and Mare (Sea) are the children of Aether and Dies (Day, the Roman equivalent of Hemera ). With Aether, Terra produces Dolor (Pain), Dolus (Deception), Ira (Anger), Luctus (Mourning), Mendacium (Lying), Iusiurandum (Oath), Vltio (Vengeance), Intemperantia (Self-indulgence), Altercatio (Quarreling), Oblivio (Forgetfulness), Socordia (Sloth), Timor (Fear), Superbia (Arrogance), Incestum (Incest), Pugna (Fighting), Oceanus (Ocean), Themis, Tartarus, Pontus,

4841-465: The Titans, Briareus, Gyges, Steropes, Atlas, Hyperion, Polus, Saturn , Ops , Moneta , Dione, and the Furies ( Alecto , Megaera , and Tisiphone ). By Tartarus, Terra then becomes the mother of the Giants, which are listed as Enceladus , Coeus, Ophion , Astraeus , Pelorus, Pallas, Emphytus, Rhoecus, Ienios, Agrius, Palaemon, Ephialtes , Eurytus, Theomises, Theodamas, Otos, Typhon, Polybotes, Menephiarus, Abseus, Colophomus, and Iapetus. According to

4944-537: The angiosperms. [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania Gaia (mythology) In Greek mythology , Gaia ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ ə , ˈ ɡ aɪ ə / ; Ancient Greek : Γαῖα , romanized :  Gaîa ,

5047-430: The bountiful ("polyphorbos") earth, but she calls Hades and Persephone to avenge her against her son In the poems of Hesiod she is personified. Gaia has a significant role in the evolution of the world. She is the nurse of Zeus, and she has the epithet "Kourotrophos". Kourotrophos was the name of an old goddess who was subordinate to Ge. Dieterich believed that Kourotrophos and Potnia theron construct precisely

5150-427: The breakup of Pangaea was caused by centripetal forces from Earth's rotation acting on the high continents. However, this mechanism was easily shown to be physically implausible, which delayed acceptance of the Pangaea hypothesis. Arthur Holmes proposed the more plausible mechanism of mantle convection , which, together with evidence provided by the mapping of the ocean floor following the Second World War , led to

5253-410: The broad-bossomed), is mentioned at Delphi by Mnaseas . A temple of Ge was built to the south of the temple of Apollo . "Eutysternos" is a surname of Ge and it had an earlier use by Hesiod. It was also given to her in her worship at the Achaean Aegai. In Eumenides , the priestess announced her first prayers to "Gaia the first prophetess". At Aegai there was a very old image of the earth-goddess, and

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5356-407: The continental edges surrounding Pangea, as well as in southern Tibet, southeastern Europe, and other locations, to allow the formation of fresh seabed in the proto-Atlantic Ocean. Plate tectonic activity in subduction zones caused the construction of north-south mountain ranges such as the Rocky Mountains and the Andes all along the west coast of North, Central, and South America. The Middle Jurassic

5459-594: The depth of the wide-pathed Earth", and next Eros the god of love. Hesiod goes on to say that Gaia brought forth her equal Uranus (Heaven, Sky) to "cover her on every side". Gaia also bore the Ourea (Mountains), and Pontus (Sea), "without sweet union of love" (i.e., with no father). Afterward, with Uranus, her son, she gave birth to the Titans , as Hesiod tells it: She lay with Heaven and bore deep-swirling Oceanus , Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus , Theia and Rhea , Themis , and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys . After them

5562-474: The development and acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics . This theory provides the widely-accepted explanation for the existence and breakup of Pangaea. The geography of the continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean was the first evidence suggesting the existence of Pangaea. The seemingly close fit of the coastlines of North and South America with Europe and Africa was remarked on almost as soon as these coasts were charted. Careful reconstructions showed that

5665-442: The earth goddess was worshipped together with the sky-god (Zeus). At Thebes there was cult of "Gaia Makaira Telesforos". Telesforos means "bringing fruits to perfection". The earth goddess had powers over the ghosts and the dreams which come from the underworld, therefore she acquired oracular powers. These conceptions are evident in her cults at Delphi , Athens and Aigai of Achaea. An inscription "ieron eurysternou" (sunctuary of

5768-402: The earth. In some plays of Aeschylus "chthon" is the earth-goddess Gaia. The tragic poets usually describe Gaia as mother of all, all-nourishing and all-productive who must be honoured. In Aeschylus' Prometheus Unbound , Gaia is the mother mother of all ("pammetor") and in a fragment of Euripides chthon has the same epithet. In Persai of Aeschylus offerings are recommended to Ge and

5871-415: The eastern portion of Gondwana ( India , Antarctica , and Australia ) headed toward the South Pole from the equator. North and South China were on independent continents. The Kazakhstania microcontinent had collided with Siberia. (Siberia had been a separate continent for millions of years since the breakup of Pannotia.) The Variscan orogeny raised the Central Pangaean Mountains, which were comparable to

5974-406: The end of the Triassic and beginning of the Jurassic . Pangaea was C-shaped, with the bulk of its mass stretching between Earth 's northern and southern polar regions and surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys and subsequent Tethys Oceans . Pangaea is the most recent supercontinent to have existed and the first to be reconstructed by geologists . The name "Pangaea"

6077-431: The equator if the continents had been in their present position; similarly, the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus has been found in only localized regions of the coasts of Brazil and West Africa . Geologists can also determine the movement of continental plates by examining the orientation of magnetic minerals in rocks . When rocks are formed, they take on the magnetic orientation of the Earth, showing which direction

6180-432: The equator. The assembly of Pangaea disrupted the Intertropical Convergence Zone and created an extreme monsoon climate that reduced the deposition of coal to its lowest level in the last 300 million years. During the Permian , coal deposition was largely restricted to the North and South China microcontinents, which were among the few areas of continental crust that had not joined with Pangaea. The extremes of climate in

6283-445: The evolution of life took place. The seas of the Early Carboniferous were dominated by rugose corals , brachiopods , bryozoans , sharks , and the first bony fish . Life on land was dominated by lycopsid forests inhabited by insects and other arthropods and the first tetrapods . By the time Pangaea broke up, in the Middle Jurassic, the seas swarmed with molluscs (particularly ammonites ), ichthyosaurs , sharks and rays, and

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6386-419: The few continental areas not merged with Pangaea, as a refugium. There were three major phases in the break-up of Pangaea. The Atlantic Ocean did not open uniformly; rifting began in the north-central Atlantic. The first breakup of Pangaea is proposed for the late Ladinian (230 Ma) with initial spreading in the opening central Atlantic. Then the rifting proceeded along the eastern margin of North America,

6489-445: The first ray-finned bony fishes, while life on land was dominated by forests of cycads and conifers in which dinosaurs flourished and in which the first true mammals had appeared. The evolution of life in this time reflected the conditions created by the assembly of Pangaea. The union of most of the continental crust into one landmass reduced the extent of sea coasts. Increased erosion from uplifted continental crust increased

6592-431: The floor opens to the width of a cubit, and they say that along this bed flowed off the water after the deluge that occurred in the time of Deukalion, and into it they cast every year wheat mixed with honey ... The ancient sanctuary of Zeus Olympios the Athenians say was built by Deukalion (Deucalion), and they cite as evidence that Deukalion lived at Athens a grave which is not far from the present temple. In Athens, there

6695-514: The formation of the Ural Mountains and Laurasia . This was the last step of the formation of Pangaea. Meanwhile, South America had collided with southern Laurentia, closing the Rheic Ocean and completing the Variscian orogeny with the formation the southernmost part of the Appalachians and Ouachita Mountains . By this time, Gondwana was positioned near the South Pole, and glaciers formed in Antarctica, India, Australia, southern Africa, and South America. The North China Craton collided with Siberia by

6798-424: The formation of the southwestern Indian Ocean in the Cretaceous. The second major phase in the break-up of Pangaea began in the Early Cretaceous (150–140 Ma), when Gondwana separated into multiple continents (Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, and Australia). The subduction at Tethyan Trench probably caused Africa, India and Australia to move northward, causing the opening of a "South Indian Ocean". In

6901-404: The goddess. At Olympia her altar was called "Gaios". The altars were given the name of a deity in primitive stages of religion. At Olympia like in Dodona it seems that she was honoured together with the sky-god Zeus . At Aigai she had an oracular power. According to Pliny the priestess drank a small quantity of the blood of a bull before entering the secret cave. At Patras in the oracle of "Ge",

7004-497: The importance of floodplain and delta environments relative to shallow marine environments. Continental assembly and uplift also meant increasingly arid land climates, favoring the evolution of amniote animals and seed plants , whose eggs and seeds were better adapted to dry climates. The early drying trend was most pronounced in western Pangaea, which became a center of the evolution and geographical spread of amniotes. Coal swamps typically form in perpetually wet regions close to

7107-426: The interior of Pangaea are reflected in bone growth patterns of pareiasaurs and the growth patterns in gymnosperm forests. The lack of oceanic barriers is thought to have favored cosmopolitanism , in which successful species attain wide geographical distribution. Cosmopolitanism was also driven by mass extinctions , including the Permian–Triassic extinction event , the most severe in the fossil record, and also

7210-486: The later supercontinents, Pannotia and Pangaea. According to one reconstruction, when Rodinia broke up, it split into three pieces: proto- Laurasia , proto-Gondwana, and the smaller Congo Craton . Proto-Laurasia and proto-Gondwana were separated by the Proto-Tethys Ocean . Proto-Laurasia split apart to form the continents of Laurentia , Siberia , and Baltica . Baltica moved to the east of Laurentia, and Siberia moved northeast of Laurentia. The split created two oceans,

7313-438: The latitude and orientation of ancient continental blocks, and newer techniques may help determine longitudes. Paleontology helps determine ancient climates, confirming latitude estimates from paleomagnetic measurements, and the distribution of ancient forms of life provides clues on which continental blocks were close to each other at particular geological moments. However, reconstructions of continents prior to Pangaea, including

7416-409: The mismatch at the 500 fathoms (3,000 feet; 910 meters) contour was less than 130 km (81 mi), and it was argued that this was much too similar to be attributed to coincidence. Additional evidence for Pangaea is found in the geology of adjacent continents, including matching geological trends between the eastern coast of South America and the western coast of Africa . The polar ice cap of

7519-545: The modern Himalayas in scale. With Pangaea stretching from the South Pole across the equator and well into the Northern Hemisphere, an intense megamonsoon climate was established, except for a perpetually wet zone immediately around the central mountains. Western Kazakhstania collided with Baltica in the late Carboniferous, closing the Ural Ocean and the western Proto-Tethys ( Uralian orogeny ), causing

7622-496: The mortal Heracles , who assisted the Olympians in defeating the Gigantes. According to Hesiod , in his lost poem Astronomia , Orion , while hunting with Artemis and her mother Leto , claimed that he would kill every animal on earth. Gaia, angered by his boasting, sent a giant scorpion to kill him, and after his death, he and the scorpion were placed among the stars by Zeus. According to Ovid , Gaia for some reason sent

7725-465: The mother goddess. Ge is also personified in the myths of Erichthonius and Pluto . Erichthonius is early mentioned in the Catalogue of ships . He is born by the Homeric earth which produces fruits and cereals (zeidoros arura ). The name of Erichthonius includes chthon which is not the underground kingdom of the dead, but the Homeric earth. In ancient times the earth was considered a plane or

7828-399: The mythographer Apollodorus , however, Gaia and Tartarus were the parents of Echidna . The god Hephaestus once attempted to rape Athena , but she pushed him away, causing him to ejaculate on her thigh. Athena wiped off the semen and threw it on the ground, which impregnated Gaia. Gaia then gave birth to Erichthonius of Athens , whom Athena adopted as her own child. Nonnus describes

7931-554: The name of which is Eumolpia, and it is assigned to Musaeus , son of Antiophemus. In it the poet states that the oracle belonged to Poseidon and Earth in common; that Earth gave her oracles herself, but Poseidon used Pyrcon as his mouthpiece in giving responses. The verses are these: "Forthwith the voice of the Earth-goddess uttered a wise word, And with her Pyrcon, servant of the renowned Earth-shaker." They say that afterwards Earth gave her share to Themis, who gave it to Apollo as

8034-573: The northern Appalachians. Siberia sat near Euramerica, with the Khanty Ocean between the two continents. While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea. The second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of Gondwana with Euramerica. By the middle of the Silurian , 430 Ma, Baltica had already collided with Laurentia, forming Euramerica, an event called

8137-692: The northwest African margin and the High , Saharan and Tunisian Atlas Mountains . Another phase began in the Early-Middle Jurassic (about 175 Ma), when Pangaea began to rift from the Tethys Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The rifting that took place between North America and Africa produced multiple failed rifts . One rift resulted in the North Atlantic Ocean. The South Atlantic did not open until

8240-513: The number of islands that could have served as refugia for marine species. Species diversity may have already been reduced prior to mass extinction events due to mingling of species possible when formerly separate continents were merged. However, there is strong evidence that climate barriers continued to separate ecological communities in different parts of Pangaea. The eruptions of the Emeishan Traps may have eliminated South China, one of

8343-549: The ones in this section, remain partially speculative, and different reconstructions will differ in some details. The fourth-last supercontinent, called Columbia or Nuna, appears to have assembled in the period 2.0–1.8 billion years ago (Ga) . Columbia/Nuna broke up, and the next supercontinent, Rodinia , formed from the accretion and assembly of its fragments. Rodinia lasted from about 1.3 billion years ago until about 750 million years ago, but its configuration and geodynamic history are not nearly as well understood as those of

8446-460: The other of Aphrodite ... Next to the grove is a sanctuary of Demeter; she and her daughter [Persephone] are standing, but the image of Ge (Earth) is seated." The Temple of Zeus Olympios in Athens reportedly had an enclosure of Ge Olympia: [Within the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios in the lower town of Athens:] Within the precincts are antiquities: a bronze Zeus, a temple of Kronos (Cronus) and Rhea and an enclosure of Ge (Earth) surnamed Olympia. Here

8549-403: The poles lie relative to the rock; this determines latitudes and orientations (though not longitudes). Magnetic differences between samples of sedimentary and intrusive igneous rock whose age varies by millions of years is due to a combination of magnetic polar wander (with a cycle of a few thousand years) and the drifting of continents over millions of years. The polar wander component, which

8652-420: The reduced area of continental shelf environments may have left marine species vulnerable to extinction. However, no evidence for a species-area effect has been found in more recent and better characterized portions of the geologic record. Another possibility is that reduced seafloor spreading associated with the formation of Pangaea, and the resulting cooling and subsidence of oceanic crust , may have reduced

8755-516: The root ga- . The Greeks invoked Gaia in their oaths, and she should be aware if one broke his oath. In the Homeric poems she appears usually in forms of oath. In Iliad the sacrifice of a black lamb is offered to Gaia and she is invoked in the formula of an oath. Homer considers her a physical distinct existence not clearly conceived in anthropomorphic form. Gaia does not seem to have any personal activity. In Iliad Alpheia beats with her hands

8858-528: The same meaning with gaia . Some of her epithets are similar in some Indo-European languages. The universitality of the goddess is expressed by the prefix pan ,( πάν ). Some of the epithets of Gaia and Demeter are similar showing the identity of their nature. Gaia is believed by some sources to be the original deity behind the Oracle at Delphi . It was thus said: "That word spoken from tree-clad mother Gaia's (Earth's) navel-stone [Omphalos]." Depending on

8961-540: The sanctuaries of other gods. Close to the sanctuary of Eileithyia in Tegea was an altar of Ge; Phlya and Myrrhinos had an altar to Ge under the name Thea Megale (Great goddess); as well as Olympia which additionally, similar to Delphi, also said to have had an oracle to Gaia: On what is called the Gaion (Gaeum, Sanctuary of Ge) [at Olympia] is an altar of Ge (Earth); it too is of ashes. In more ancient days they say that there

9064-497: The scorpion to kill Leto instead, and Orion was killed trying to protect her. When Boreas , the god of the north wind, killed Pitys , an Oread nymph , for rejecting his advances and preferring Pan over him, Gaia pitied the dead girl and transformed her into a pine tree. According to little-known myth, Elaea was an accomplished athlete from Attica who was killed by her fellow athletes, because they had grown envious of her and her skills; but Gaia turned her into an olive tree as

9167-417: The service was in the hands of a virgin woman. The serpent represented the earth deity and was related to the chthonic oracular cult. This is evident at Delphi. Traditionally the oracle belonged originally to Poseidon and Ge and the serpent Python represents the earth spirit. Ge was probably present at the oracle of Trophonius at Livadeia . The prophecies were usually given by the priestesses and not by

9270-452: The source, Gaia passed her powers on to Poseidon , Apollo , or Themis . Pausanias wrote: Many and different are the stories told about Delphi, and even more so about the oracle of Apollo. For they say that in the earliest times the oracular seat belonged to Earth, who appointed as prophetess at it Daphnis, one of the nymphs of the mountain. There is extant among the Greeks an hexameter poem,

9373-463: The southern British Isles , and parts of Belgium , northern France , Nova Scotia , New England , South Iberia , and northwest Africa—broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to Laurentia. Baltica, Laurentia, and Avalonia all came together by the end of the Ordovician to form a landmass called Euramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean. The collision resulted in the formation of

9476-617: The southern supercontinent Gondwana . In the Cambrian, Laurentia—which would later become North America —sat on the equator with three bordering oceans: the Panthalassic Ocean to the north and west, the Iapetus Ocean to the south, and the Khanty Ocean to the east. In the early Ordovician , around 480 Ma, the microcontinent Avalonia —a landmass incorporating fragments of what would become eastern Newfoundland ,

9579-462: The spirit of the departed. She is called "pamphoros", (all bearing). In Choephori , Electra in her prayer describes Gaia as an avenger of wrong. Sophocles in Philoctetes calls Gaia "pamvōtis" (all nourishing) A famous fragment of Danaides describes the sacred marriage between heaven and earth. Ouranos and Gaia are cosmic powers and natural processes. In Chrysippus of Euripides Gaia

9682-512: The strong variations in climate by latitude and season produced by the extreme monsoon climate. For example, cold-adapted pteridosperms (early seed plants) of Gondwana were blocked from spreading throughout Pangaea by the equatorial climate, and northern pteridosperms ended up dominating Gondwana in the Triassic. The tectonics and geography of Pangaea may have worsened the Permian–Triassic extinction event or other mass extinctions. For example,

9785-462: The testicles of Uranus in the sea came forth Aphrodite . By her son, Pontus, Gaia bore the sea-deities Nereus , Thaumas , Phorcys , Ceto , and Eurybia . Because Cronus had learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his children, he swallowed each of the children born to him by his Titan older sister, Rhea. But when Rhea was pregnant with her youngest child, Zeus , she sought help from Gaia and Uranus. When Zeus

9888-514: The title was later applied in Greek texts to Artemis . The mother goddess Cybele from Anatolia (modern Turkey ) was partly identified by the Greeks with Gaia, but more so with Rhea. Beliefs and worship amongst modern pagans (also known as neopagans ) regarding Gaia vary, ranging from the belief that Gaia is the Earth to the belief that she is the spiritual embodiment of the earth or the goddess of

9991-569: The word is of uncertain origin. Beekes suggested a probable Pre-Greek origin. M.L.West derives the name from the Indo-European from *dʰéǵʰōm (earth). Greek : gaia (<*gm-ya), chamai (χαμαί) on the earth, Hittite : tekan , Tocharian : tkam , Phrygian zemelo , Proto-Slavonic : *zem-yã , Avestan : za (locative: zemi ), Vedic : ksam , Latin : hum-us , Albanian : dhé . In Mycenean Greek Ma-ka (probably transliterated as Ma-ga , "Mother Gaia") also contains

10094-590: Was a statue of Gaia on the Acropolis depicting her beseeching Zeus for rain as well as an image of her close to the court of the Areopagos in Athens, alongside the statues of Plouton and Hermes, "by which sacrifice those who have received an acquittal on the Areopagos". Some modern sources, such as Mellaart , Gimbutas , and Walker , claim that Gaia as Mother Earth is a later form of a pre-Indo-European Great Mother , venerated in Neolithic times. Her existence

10197-693: Was a temple of Ge Eurusternos on the Crathis near Aegae in Achaia with "a very ancient statue": It is a journey of about thirty stades [from the stream of Krathis (Crathis) near the ruins of Aigai (Aegae) in Akhaia] to what is called the Gaion (Gaeum), a sanctuary of Ge (Earth) surnamed Eurysternos (Broad-bossomed), whose wooden image is one of the very oldest. The woman who from time to time is priestess henceforth remains chaste and before her election must not have had intercourse with more than one man. The test applied

10300-687: Was an oracle also of Ge (Earth) in this place. On what is called the Stomion (Mouth) the altar to Themis has been built. Her statues were naturally to be found in the temples of Demeter, such as the Temple of Demeter in Achaia: "They [the Patraians of Akhaia (Achaea)] have also a grove by the sea, affording in summer weather very agreeable walks and a pleasant means generally of passing the time. In this grove are also two temples of divinities, one of Apollon,

10403-466: Was born Cronos ( Cronus ) the wily, youngest, and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire. According to Hesiod, Gaia conceived further offspring with her son, Uranus, first the giant one-eyed Cyclopes : Brontes ("Thunder"), Steropes ("Lightning"), and Arges ("Bright"); then the Hecatonchires : Cottus, Briareos, and Gyges, each with a hundred arms and fifty heads. As each of

10506-467: Was born, Rhea gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling-clothes in his place, which Cronus swallowed, and Gaia took the child into her care. With the help of Gaia's advice, Zeus defeated the Titans. But afterwards, Gaia, in union with Tartarus , bore the youngest of her sons Typhon , who would be the last challenge to the authority of Zeus. According to the Roman mythographer Hyginus , Terra (Earth,

10609-554: Was performed to Ge, and the citizents brought offerings to the graves of the dead. An ancient Gaia cult existed at the "Marathonian Tetrapolis" near Athens . In the month Poseideon a pregnant cow was sacrificed to "Ge in the acres" and in Gamelion a sheep to" Ge-near the oracle". Both sacrifices were followed by rituals and the second was related to Daeira a divinity connected with the Eleusinian mysteries. At Eleusis Ge received

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