History Main / EarthMother

A [[MotherNature goddess of the earth/nature/fertility/motherhood]] is more often than not an example of this trope. If an Earth Mother is afflicted, she can shade into the JewishMother or the MyBelovedSmother. And bear in mind the flipside of BrawnHilda is a vengeful Valkyrie with a very big spear. Compare and contrast ApronMatron.

* For the most part, averted in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', as the earth element is associated with the planet Venus and use a LoveGoddess vibe instead: the statues in the Venus lighthouse are gracefully built rather than heavy while the Dark Dawn shows that Cybele is a similarly beautiful woman (who attacks by throwing a weird frog-like plant creature).

* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': Zigzagged with [[GreenThumb Makoto]] depending on the medium. Her manga/Crystal incarnation best fits this trope with her plant powers, domesticity, wanting a family and to be more girly, and being the TeamMom of the Inners. She also acts like a surrogate mom to Chibiusa in one chapter in the Dream arc. Her dream to own either a bakery or a flower shop is mentioned extensively. Severely Downplayed in the anime: the closest thing Makoto has to plant powers here is Jupiter Oak Evolution which is also tied to her lightning powers through Jupiter's mythology plus she only gets it near the end of the fourth season. She isn't very domestic and definitely isn't the TeamMom. Her wanting to be more girly and her dream are only really given lip service. The closest the anime gets to her wanting a family is the RunningGag of thinking every guy looks like her ex-sempai and being so thirsty for a boyfriend [[WhatTheHellHero she's willing to steal a man who already has girlfriend and zero interest in her]]. Her acting like a mom toward Chibiusa temporarily ''definitely'' doesn't happen. Overall the anime preferred to play up her tomboyish side and mostly used her to beat people up. She does somewhat have a protective side in the form of being a BullyHunter, but it unfortunately doesn't extend to the person who needs it most, Usagi[[note]]She just sits on her ass while Rei constantly emotionally and verbally abuses Usagi[[/note]], and she can be a really bad, unsupportive friend to her[[note]]To the point she'll defend anime!Chibiusa's bratty behavior toward Usagi[[/note]]. [[SarcasmMode But thankfully she gets along with the rest just fine]].

* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Generally not very prominent in Greece, probably due to a mix of most of the writers of myth being city dwellers and thus having no need for earth deities, Greece being extremely poor for farming, and the society being patriarchal. Most of the popular mother goddesses were imports, like Cybele and Isis. Cybele in particular was bizarrely associated with Rhea, who only existed in {{backstory}} to give birth to Hades, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, and Zeus and then promptly disappeared from myth. None of her kids seem to miss her much. Hera in ''Literature/TheIliad'' visits her foster mother Tethys instead of her. Gaia is, if anything, a twisted subversion. She's the personified earth who's the grandmother and great-grandmother of the Olympians, but she's outright hostile to them and sends her kids the Gigantes to overthrow Zeus. The only kids she was ever interested in protecting were the monstrous ones. Aside from this, she is solely an abstract concept that received no cult worship. Demeter was the closest thing the ancient Greeks really had to this trope. She was the goddess of grain and agriculture (among other unrelated things) and heavily associated with her daughter Persephone. To say she was upset when Hades kidnapped her is an {{understatement}}. Together the two were the focus of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Sadly today Demeter gets [[RonTheDeathEater demonized]] into a MyBelovedSmother by overzealous people wanting to turn the story of Persephone's abduction into a love story because Hades is TheWoobie to a lot of modern people. Hera may have been this to at least some of her worshipers and some scanty references seem to imply she was a goddess of childbirth at one time, but normally Eileithyia and/or Artemis are thought of as being the goddesses of childbirth. However, mythology supports no such view; she mostly exists to take revenge on Zeus' mistresses and their kids though it's probable the written myths record a lopsided view of the goddess. Neopagans mostly seem to ignore her for [[WrittenByTheWinners other goddesses mythology treats more kindly, such as Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite]].

Like the Empress in the [[TarotMotifs Tarot]] pack, a big hearty smiling lady who is invariably portrayed as heavily pregnant and holding a brimming cornucopia, or nursing a baby, while children play at her feet. We are talking here about big homely gals who have a lot of love to give, who are generous, who are bountiful, [[GreenThumb who can make green things grow and flourish]], and who want to share that love and bounty in one way or another--[[ThroughHisStomach food being a particularly popular one]]. They want to love and support and nurture others and generally be motherly. She is fertile and fecund; her sexuality can scream BigBeautifulWoman, but she can get a little cranky if she is not appreciated the way she wants to be. Scorned, she can be lethal and God help you if you get between her and [[MamaBear one of her babies.]]

* Charity Carpenter from ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has overtones of this. She is fiercely protective of her large family

* Piper's role when she gets temporarily turned into a goddess in an episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}''.

Like the Empress in the [[TarotMotifs Tarot]] pack, a big hearty smiling lady who is invariably portrayed as heavily pregnant and holding a brimming cornucopia, or nursing a baby, while children play at her feet. We are talking here about big homely gals who have a lot of love to give, who are generous, who are bountiful, [[GreenThumb who can make green things grow and flourish]], and who want to share that love and bounty in one way or another -- [[ThroughHisStomach food being a particularly popular one]]. They want to love and support and nurture others and generally be mother. She is fertile and fecund -- her sexuality can scream BigBeautifulWoman -- but she can get a little cranky if she is not appreciated the way she wants to be. Scorned, she can be lethal -- and God help you if you get between her and [[MamaBear one of her babies.]]

* When [[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Jupiter]] grows up, she will most likely be this -- when she's not mowing down Mooks with incredible lightning powers. Her dream is to own either a bakery or a flower shop, and she has a protective streak a mile wide.

* Allegories of Charity, whether in sculpture or painting, show a Earth Mother, often nursing one of the plentiful children about her.
* During the UsefulNote/FrenchRevolution, before the iconography of ''Marianne'' properly evolved, the French Republic was often [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personified]] as a mother, which provided a useful excuse to show her with one or both breasts bared.

* While childless, Franchise/{{Batman}}'s adversary Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley) shows nurturing love for all things green and growing and is cranky on issues such as pollution and pesticides. She has attacked pollutors without mercy in defence of her beloved plants, but has also, (in extremis), nurtured humans, after an apocalypse, with abundant fast-growing fruit and veg.
* Marvel Comics has the Earth-goddess called Mother Earth (alternatively: Mother Nature), who under various names is member of every single Pantheon. Among others she is Gaia (Hercules' great-grandmother) in the Greek pantheon and Jord (Thor's mother) in the Norse one.

* Charity is represented as a nursing Earth Mother in EdmundSpenser's ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene''.
* Charity Carpenter from ''Literature/{{TheDresdenFiles}}'' has overtones of this. She is fiercely protective of her large family

* Television gardener Charlie Dimmock on ''Series/GroundForce''. Charlie was famous for going bra-less while gardening on TV, alleging that it was more comfortable. She managed to upstage her two male co-stars in every show, especially if she wore a loose T-shirt with an open neck, and if it ever ''rained'' on their gardening tasks, she was Queen of the Wet T-Shirt on British TV. And what was generally overlooked was that she knew her gardening, too.

* TV archaeologist and historian Bettany Hughes is also a woman who gets close to the earth. Archaeologists bend over a lot whilst digging, trowelling or exploring with fingertips to get the Earth to give up its secrets of the past. Bettany has a lot in common with [[Series/GroundForce Charlie Dimmock]] when on digs, especially in the warm sunny climes she favours such as Greece, Egypt and the Middle East. Hey, there's a lot of archaeology and history there. And shorts, flimsy low-cut t-shirts or vests are mandatory in hot climates.
* British TV Cook Nigella Lawson, with her satisfying dishes, erotic licking of her fingers and massive boobs is made of this trope!

* TheHecateSisters are a related trope. Mother Goddesses exist in many religions.
** Babylonia: Ishtar/Astarte
** Ireland/the Celtic world: Dana, Fand, Brigid
** Greece: Hera, Demeter, also to some extent their mother Rheia, as well as ''her'' mother Gaia [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the Earth]].
** Scandinavian and Germanic mythology: Freya (Frigg) and Jord (Hjördis)
** Rome: Juno, Ceres, and Oriental imports Cybele and Isis
** GenderInverted in Egyptian mythology, where Geb is an earth father married to a sky goddess, Nut.
* Arguably, the Virgin Mary is a Christian take on the idea -- more Mother of God than Mother Goddess.

* The role of Creator/HattieJacques on ''Radio/HancocksHalfHour'' was, as often as not, to be motherly and comforting to TonyHancock and the boys, usually after some far-fetched get-rich-quick scheme had failed. She often tries to do this through food, even though she was not the world's best cook.

* For the most part, averted in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', as the earth element is associated with the planet Venus, and use a LoveGoddess vibe instead: The statues in the Venus lighthouse are gracefully built rather than heavy, while the Dark Dawn shows that Cybele is a similarly beautiful woman (who attacks by throwing a weird froglike plant creature).

* The four central characters of ''Webcomic/OlympicDames'' are American high school girls who are suddenly and bizarrely thrust into this role. But nobody else around them appears to notice they have become heavily pregnant overnight...
* The goddess Cybele in ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheGalli'' appears in dreams and visions to Katia and Daphne, who she saves in the Colosseum. She is known as The Great Mother and has her her own cult and followed by the Galli.

* British TV Cook NIgella Lawson, with her satisfying dishes, erotic licking of her fingers and massive boobs is made of this trope!

Like the Empress in the [[TarotMotifs Tarot]] pack, a big hearty smiling lady who is invariably portrayed as heavily pregnant and holding a brimming cornucopia, or nursing a baby, while children play at her feet. We are talking here about big homely gals who have a lot of love to give, who are generous, who are bountiful, [[GreenThumb who can make green things grow and flourish]], and who want to share that love and bounty in one way or another -- [[ThroughHisStomach food being a particularly popular one]]. They want to love and support and nurture others and generally be mother. She is fertile and fecund - her sexuality can scream BigBeautifulWoman- but she can get a little cranky if she is not appreciated the way she wants to be. Scorned, she can be lethal -- and God help you if you get between her and [[MamaBear one of her babies.]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* When [[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Jupiter]] grows up, she will most likely be this - when she's not mowing down Mooks with incredible lightning powers. Her dream is to own either a bakery or a flower shop, and she has a protective streak a mile wide.

* The character of Doctor Davinia Bellamy in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. Davinia is a mumsy faded blonde in her middle-to-late thirties who trained as an academic botanist, and ran florists' shops in Ankh-Morpork. She came to the attention of the Guild of Assassins through her ability to understand the language of flowers - she could say ''Drop Dead!'' in a variety of interesting floral ways. A loving wife and mother of three boys, she now teaches botany and Aggressive Flower-Arranging at the Guild school. Her ability to nurture ''difficult'' flora is legendary. And Gods help ''anyone'' unwise enough to threaten her husband or sons. Unexpected bouquets have been delivered.

* Space rockers Music/{{Hawkwind}} were for a while fronted by The Amazing Stacia, a stage dancer who interpreted their music, frequently naked. Stacia stood a little over six feet tall and boasted [[BuxomIsBetter impressively large breasts]]. In the unofficial band history, other band members confirm her habit of selecting young, attractive, and preferably inexperienced boys from the audience, whom she would sexually initiate. Recipients of her affections say there was nothing predatory about it - she came across as caring and loving.

** Greece: Hera, Demeter, also to some extent Rheia (mother of Hera and Demeter, and also of Hestia, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus) and ''her'' mother Gaia [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the Earth]] (pretty much everybody is ultimately descended from her).

* Arguably, the Virgin Mary is a Christian take on the idea - more Mother of God than Mother Goddess.

* Comedienne Dawn French, especially in her nurturing ''[[TheVicarOfDibley Vicar of Dibley]]'' aspect.

Like the Empress in the [[TarotMotifs Tarot]] pack, a big hearty smiling lady who is invariably portrayed as heavily pregnant and holding a brimming cornucopia, or nursing a baby, while children play at her feet. We are talking here about big homely gals who have a lot of love to give, who are generous, who are bountiful, [[GreenThumb who can make green things grow and flourish]], and who want to share that love and bounty in one way or another -- [[ThroughHisStomach food being a particularly popular one]]. They want to love and support and nurture others and generally be mother. She is fertile and fecund - her sexuality can scream BigBeautifulWoman and the downside is that she can get a little cranky if she is not appreciated the way she wants to be. Scorned, she can be lethal -- and god help you if you get between her and [[MamaBear one of her babies.]]

A [[MotherNature goddess of the earth/nature/fertility/motherhood]] is more often than not an example of this trope. If an Earth Mother is afflicted or badly aspected, she can shade into the JewishMother or the MyBelovedSmother. And bear in mind the flipside of BrawnHilda is a vengeful Valkyrie with a very big spear. Compare and contrast ApronMatron.

** Greece: Hera, Demeter, also to some extent Rheia (mother of Hera and Demeter, and also of Hestia, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus) and ''her'' mother Gaia (pretty much everybody is ultimately descended from her).

* In the crypt of the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_the_Battle_of_the_Nations Völkerschlachtsdenkmal]]'' in Leipzig, which was completed in 1913 for the hundredth anniversary of the [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonicWars Battle of Nations]], there are four giant statues allegorizing patriotic virtues. One of them, ''Volkskraft'' ("strength of the people", which apparently means fertility) is a mother suckling two children.

* Long-running sitcom TheGoodLife revolved around a suburban couple who give up the rat race to become completely self-sufficient. Barbara Good (Felicity Kendal) is a woman who typifies the other sort of Earth Mother - the green-fingered garden goddess who makes things grow and flourish. She nurtures her animals with love and acts as caring mother to husband Tom, an overgrown adolescent who hasn't quite made it to mature adulthood yet.

** Babylonia; Ishtar/Astarte

** Greece: Hera, Ceres.
** Scandinavia: Freya (Frigg)
** Rome: Juno, Demeter

* The role of large lady Hattie Jacques on ''HancocksHalfHour'' was, as often as not, to be motherly and comforting to TonyHancock and the boys, usually after some far-fetched get-rich-quick scheme had failed. She often tries to do this through food, even though she was not the world's best cook.

* The goddess Cybele in {{Webcomic/Tales Of The Galli}} appears in dreams and visions to Katia and Daphne, who she saves in the Colosseum. She is known as The Great Mother and has her her own cult and followed by the Galli.

* TV archaeologist and historian Bettany Hughes is also a woman who gets close to the earth. Archaeologists bend over a lot whilst digging, trowelling or exploring with fingertips to get the Earth to give up its secrets of the past. Bettany has a lot in common with [[GroundForce Charlie Dimmock]] when on digs, especially in the warm sunny climes she favours such as Greece, Egypt and the Middle East. Hey, there's a lot of archaeology and history there. And shorts, flimsy low-cut t-shirts or vests are mandatory in hot climates.

If afflicted or badly aspected, can shade into the JewishMother or the MyBelovedSmother. And bear in mind the flipside of BrawnHilda is a vengeful Valkyrie with a very big spear. Compare and contrast ApronMatron.

* Eva Wilt in Tom Sharpe's ''{{Wilt}}'' series. A larger-than-life mother of quadruplet daughters and wife to Henry. Although she is a prime example of the cranky underappreciated kind of Earth Mother.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* The four central characters of ''Webcomic/OlympicDames'' are American high school girls who are suddenly and bizarrely thrust into this role. But nobody else around them appears to notice they have become heavily pregnant overnight...
[[/folder]]

* While childless, {{Batman}}'s adversary Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley) shows nurturing love for all things green and growing and is cranky on issues such as pollution and pesticides. She has attacked pollutors without mercy in defence of her beloved plants, but has also, (in extremis), nurtured humans, after an apocalypse, with abundant fast-growing fruit and veg.