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Information about Terra (mythology)

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Aion and Tellus with four children, perhaps the personified seasons, mosaic from a Roman villa in Sentinum, 200-250 BC, Munich Glyptothek (Inv. W504)


Terra Mater or Tellus was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin; Mater is an honorific title also bestowed on other goddesses. Romans appealed to her over earthquakes, and along with the grain goddess Ceres, she was responsible for the productivity of farmland. She was also associated with marriage, motherhood, pregnant women, and pregnant animals. Terra's Greek counterpart is Gaia, and as such, she was said to be the mother of Fama, the goddess of fame and rumor.

Some linguists studying the Indo-European languages believe that the two words Terra and Tellus derive from the formulaic phrase tersa tellus, meaning "dry land". If this is true, Tellus might be the more ancient version of the name. According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, Terra refers to the element earth (one of the four basic elements of earth, air, water, and fire) and Tellus refers to the guardian deity of Earth and by extension the sphere upon which we live, the globe itself.[1] Actual classical Latin usage does not necessarily appear to respect this distinction.[2]

A festival for Tellus called the Fordicia or Hordicidia was held every year on April 15; it involved the sacrifice of pregnant cows and was managed by the pontifex maximus and the Vestal Virgins. The Virgins kept the ashes of the fetal calves until they were used for purification at Parilia. Two festivals were held in January to mark the end of the winter sowing season, the Sementivae, celebrated in the city, and the Paganalia, celebrated mostly in rural areas. The first part of the Sementivae was held from January 24 to 26 in honor of Tellus, the second part honored Ceres and was held a week later.

Tellus and Terra in science fiction

Many science fiction authors have used the term Terra to refer to Earth. Authors that have used Tellus include CS Lewis in his Space Trilogy, E.E. Smith in his space opera the Lensman series, and Robert A. Heinlein in several of the stories in his Future History sequence.

Terra is the name of the secondary planet in the video game Final Fantasy IX.

Terra is the name of the Earth after the Emperor of mankind renamed it in Warhammer 40000.

References

1. ^ Hornblower, Simon and Spawforth, Antony, editors The Oxford Classical Dictionary Third Edition Oxford/New York: 1996 Oxford University Press--Article on Tellus Page 1480: "while Terra describes the element earth Tellus is the name of its protecting deity."
2. ^ Ovid, Fastis, line 1 ff., 67 ff., 105 ff., 469 ff. etc.
goddess is a female deity. Many cultures have goddesses. Most often these goddesses are part of a polytheistic system that includes multiple deities. Pantheons in various cultures can include both goddesses and gods, and in some cases also intersex deities.
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EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001. Their greatest hit, their debut single "time after time", peaked at #13 in the Oricon singles chart.
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Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. One part, largely later and literary, consists of whole-cloth borrowings from Greek mythology.
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Mother Earth may refer to:
  • Mother Nature, a common metaphorical expression for the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life
  • Matka Ziemia, a Slavic deity
  • Gaia (mythology), the mythological goddess personifying the earth

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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Ceres was the goddess of growing plants (particularly cereals) and of motherly love. Her name derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "ker", meaning "to grow", which is also the root for the words "create" and "increase".
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Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.
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For other uses, see Gaia.


Gaia (pronounced /'geɪ.ə/ or /'gaɪ.
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In Greek mythology, Pheme (Φημη) (Roman equivalent: Fama) was the personification of fame and renown, her favour being fame, her wrath being scandalous rumors.
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Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, the northern Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and much of Central Asia.
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The Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD) is the standard one-volume encyclopedia in English of topics relating to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

It was first published in 1949. A second edition followed in 1970, edited by the late Nicholas G. L. Hammond and H. H.
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Western
  Air  
Water Aether Fire
  Earth  
Chinese (Wu Xing)
  Water (水)  
Metal (金) Earth (土) Wood (木)
  Fire (火)  
Japanese (Godai)
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The Fordicia, also called Hordicidia, was a Roman festival for the goddess Tellus held on April 15. During the ceremony, a pregnant cow was sacrificed, the calf fetus burned and the ashes saved for the Parilia festival.
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April 15 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post.
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In Ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins (sacerdos Vestalis), were the virgin holy priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Their primary task was to maintain the sacred fire of Vesta.
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As described in the Fasti (a series of poems by Ovid), the agricultural festival of Parilia, performed annually on April 21, was aimed to cleanse both sheep and shepherd. It was carried out in acknowledgment to the Roman deity Pales, god of shepherd and sheep and of whose gender is
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Sementivae, also known as Feriae Sementivae, is a Roman festival of sowing.

It is held in honor of Ceres (the goddess of agriculture) and Tellus (Mother Earth).
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January 24 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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January 26 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France.

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C. S. Lewis

Born: 29 November 1898(1898--)
Belfast, Ireland
Died: 22 November 1963 (aged 66)
Oxford, England
Occupation: Novelist, Scholar, Broadcaster
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Edward Elmer Smith

Gray Lensman in Astounding Oct. 1939
Pseudonym: E. E. "Doc" Smith
Born: May 2 1890(1890--)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Died: July 31 1965 (aged 75)
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Space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic adventure, and larger-than-life characters often set against vast exotic futuristic settings with remotely plausible technology as time travel and interstellar travel, complex alien
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The Lensman series is a serial science fiction space opera by E. E. Smith. The series is significant because it was the first set of science fiction novels conceived as a series.
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Robert A. Heinlein

Heinlein signing autographs at the 1976 Worldcon
Born: July 7 1907(1907--)
Butler, Missouri, USA
Died: May 8 1988 (aged 82)
Carmel, California,USA
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Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr.
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Final Fantasy IX (ファイナルファンタジーIX
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The Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind is the leader of the Imperium in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the largest human organization within that universe. Worshipped as Master, Defender and Father of Mankind by the countless trillions of the Imperium's citizens, he has sat
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