| Cronus | |
| Parents | Gaea and Ouranos |
| Siblings |
|
| Immortal children | |
| Mortal children |
None |
| Wife/husband | Rhea |
| Names | Father of the Olympians |
| Titles | Titan of Time, king of the Titans |
| Weapons | Scythe |
Cronus or Kronos was the King of the Titans and the most powerful child of Gaea and Ouranos.
History[]
The Titans were the youngest of the three races born to Gaea the Earth and Ouranos the Sky, after the Hekatonkheires and the Cyclopes. All were detested by their father, but he both feared and hated the elder children so much that he imprisoned them in the abyss of Tartarus, which was itself deep within the Earth. Enraged, Gaea got pregnant and told her remaining children to avenge their brothers and overthrow their draconian parent. Kronos was the boldest of the siblings and, initially, only he would agree to help his mother. Using a scythe fashioned by Gaea, he sliced Ouranos into a thousand pieces and claimed his supremacy over the universe (In some versions of the same myth, it is stated that Kronos did not slice Ouranos apart; instead he removes Ouranos' private part and throws them into the sea as gesture of loathing against Oceanus for not helping slay their father. These would later mix with the ocean spray to form Aphrodite. Kronos would later face the same fate at the hands of Zeus).
During his reign, Kronos would usher in an era of peace and prosperity for the Titans, and took his sister Rhea as his bride and queen. His rule would also see the genesis of mankind and be called their 'Golden Age'. However, Kronos abandoned his imprisoned siblings to their fates out of the belief that they would only pose a threat to his authority.
At the height of his power, Kronos was warned by Ouranos that he would be supplanted by his own child just as he had usurped his father long before. Determined to avoid this fate, he decided to swallow his children alive so that they could never overthrow him. Rhea pleaded with Kronos to spare their children but with no success. Kronos' wife eventually gave birth to a sixth and, of their union, final child on Mount Ida, and deceived her husband into devouring a stone swaddled in cloths instead, after getting him drunk. This sixth son would be called Zeus.
Kronos had only a single, brief affair with the Oceanid Philyra, which resulted in the birth of Chiron. When Zeus grew to adulthood, he infiltrated his father's palace on Mount Othrys and slipped an emetic into the Titan Lord's drink which forced him to disgorge Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon, who had been growing undigested in Kronos' stomach, being gods. Kronos' children quickly declared war against him and eventually triumphed in the consequent Titanomachy where his followers were banished and Kronos was dismembered into thousands of pieces by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades who used the very weapon that Kronos had used to eviscerate Ouranos. His followers (including Rhea, ironically) and the resulting pieces were cast into Tartarus.
Told of a prophecy that one day Cronus would return to seek revenge on his children, Zeus had Cronus' remains gathered up and thrown into the River Lethe, as the fates decreed his remains not be thrown into the Styx. As he reimerged, the king of the Titans was sent to wonder the world for eternity.
Appearance[]
Personality[]
Cronus was a cruel, sadistic and cunning leader, with an insatiable lust for power and domination that surpassed that of any other Titan. Cronus strove to prove himself as superior to his elder brothers, so much so that it inspired him to murder his father. As the Titan Lord of Time, Kronos relished being immortal, and enjoyed speeding up the growth of plants and humans, watching them wither up and die before his eyes. He treated mortals as entertainment. Cronus was honourable in his early reign; he fairly rewarded his Titan brethren with control over the four corners of the world.
Through Cronus had initially relished all of the power and authority that he possessed, he became unhappy that none of his Titan siblings visited him, knowing that they secretly feared him. Marrying Rhea made him much more content with himself. But even his marriage and love for Rhea wasn’t enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature.