Gaia & 1184 Gaea Asteroid - Vienna, Austria
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 48° 12.385 E 016° 22.030
33U E 601576 N 5340146
Gaia is the Greek mother goddess and is thereby associated with the Earth itself.
Waymark Code: WMM6GK
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 07/30/2014
Views: 9
This depiction of Gaia is the third part of a three-piece frieze atop the Austrian National Library building in Vienna which is part of the Hofburg Palace.
Wikipedia's page for the Hofburg Palace (visit link) informs us:
"The exterior decoration with Attika figures was executed by Lorenzo Mattielli in 1726. He placed a statue of Pallas Athene riding on a quadriga above the main entrance. On the left portion of the roof, he situated Atlas, supporting the celestial globe, flanked by Astronomy and Astrology, and on the opposite side, Gaia with the terrestrial globe, flanked by allegories of Geometry and Geography."
Wikipedia's page for Gaia (
visit link) informs us:
"In Greek mythology, Gaia ... was the personification of the Earth, one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia was the great mother of all: the primal Greek Mother Goddess; creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe; the heavenly gods, the Titans, and the Giants were born to her. The gods reigning over their classical pantheon were born from her union with Uranus (the sky), while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus (the sea). Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra."
As for the asteroid, Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"1184 Gaea (1926 RE) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 5, 1926 by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth at Heidelberg.
This asteroid is named after Gaea (Gaia), goddess of Earth in Greek mythology, who was wife of Uranus."