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Mythology
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Cronos, in Greek mythology, was the
ruler of the universe during the Golden Age. The planet Saturn
represents the Roman God of the same name. Saturn's mythical origins
can be traced to the Greek God Cronos.
Cronos was one of the 12 Titans and the youngest son of Uranus and Gaea,
the personifications of heaven and earth. Uranus and Gaea's children were the
three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires - (100-handed, 50-headed monsters)
and the twelve Titans. Uranus hated the Hecatoncheires and imprisoned them on
the earth. |
But the earth was Gaea's womb and she did not like her husband using it as a
prison, so she plotted revenge
against Uranus.
Gaea sought to rescue her Hecatoncheires children and appealed for
help from her other offspring. Gaea made a flint sickle and tried to get her
children to attack Uranus with it. All of them refused because of fear except
for Cronos, the youngest of the Titans.
Gaea and Cronos set up an ambush of Uranus as he slept. Cronos grabbed his
father and castrated him, with the flint sickle, throwing the severed
genitals into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not clear. He either died,
withdrew from the earth, or fled to Italy. As Uranus departed he promised that Cronos and the
Titans would be punished. From Uranus' spilt blood sprang the Giants, the Ash Tree
Nymphs, and the Erinnyes. From the sea foam where his genitals fell sprang
Aphrodite.
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Cronos now became
ruler of the gods, he married his sister Rhea, and together they had the
Olympians. But Cronos learned from the stars that one of his children would
dethrone him, so at the birth of each child, he would swallow them whole.
Rhea was angry about her husband's treatment of their children. She
substituted a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes for their sixth child, Zeus. |
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Rhea hid Zeus on Crete. After he grew up Zeus went to Metis for advice
on how to overthrow his father, Cronos. Metis prepared a special
kind of drink that would make him disgorge the other five children.
Rhea convinced Cronos to allow Zeus to return to Mount Olympus. This gave
Zeus a chance to try his plan. He slipped the drink to Cronos and the other
five children and the stone were disgorged. Because they were gods, they were
unharmed. The stone was later removed to Delphi.
Zeus and his five brothers and sisters waged war on Cronos and the other
Titans. Zeus was aided by the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopses, whom he freed
from the prison where they were kept by Cronos. Cronos and the Titans were
defeated.
Cronos escaped to Italy, where he ruled as Saturn. The period of his rule
was said to be a golden age on earth, honored by the Saturnalia feast.
Western civilization still celebrates this feast but it was appropriated and
renamed by an emerging group of gutsy dedicated people - the Christians.
Cronos' celebration and feast is now known as Christmas.
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