Cronus Facts For Kids: Learn All About The 'God Of Time'

Cronus was the king of all Titans and the god of time in Greek mythology.

Cronus was the 12th child of Uranus and Gaia. He was also the father of important Greek gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera.

Cronus has a unique life story as it started the same way it ended. When Cronus' mother, Gaia, wanted to encourage a revolt against his father Uranus, Cronus bravely came forward and took the sickle or harpe with which he had to defeat Uranus.

After Cronus was successful, he became the leader of the Titans and started to rule over a prosperous and thriving land.

However, he soon started to feel afraid for himself and felt threatened by his children. In order to hold onto his power, he started to swallow his children one by one until one day; he was defeated by Zeus.

The story of Cronus is quite well-known and has also inspired the famous painting 'Saturn Devouring His Son' by Spanish painter Francisco Goya.

Keep reading for more interesting Cronus Greek God facts!

Origins And History Of Cronus According To Greek Mythology

The origin and history of Cronus is a story of power, violence, and war. He was the son of powerful Uranus, who was the personification of Heaven. His mother was Gaia, who symbolized Earth.

The Titan Cronus took over power through a violent uprising against his own father. After defeating his father, Cronus himself became the supreme deity. However, he also became blinded by the greed for power and started to attack his own children.

Cronus was one of the 12 titans and the youngest child of Uranus and Gaia. He had five brothers: Iapetus, Hyperion, Crius, Coeus, and Oceanus, and six sisters: Rhea, Themis, Tethys, Theia, Mnemosyne, and Phoebe.

Uranus was quite afraid of holding onto his own power and position and was driven to war once Gaia encouraged an uprising against him. In the uprising, Cronus used an adamantine sickle to castrate Uranus.

After castrating his father, the Titans under Cronus started to control the cosmos. It is said that once Cronus castrated his father, he separated Earth from Heaven and created two separate spheres.

He also took his sister Rhea as his consort and ruled in pairs. Rhea was the goddess of fertility and motherhood.

With Rhea, he also fathered six children: Hades, Hestia, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Zeus. These children would actually go on to become the almighty gods of Mount Olympus.

Symbols And Powers Of Cronus

Cronus is considered to be the deity of time, especially when time is interpreted as a destructive and negative force. His symbols also include a scythe along with an adamantine sickle.

He was also the most powerful of all the Titans. Cronus is sometimes also considered as the equivalent of the primordial god Chronus in Greek and Roman biography. The name Chronos or Kronos means time in Greek.

According to the legends of ancient Greece, after defeating his father Uranus, Cronus married Rhea and started to rule the cosmos. Under their rule, the world prospered, and the mortal humans were blessed with bountiful harvest and crops.

The human beings lived healthy, happy, and peaceful lives as there was no war or violence among them due to scarcity of resources.

This period of Cronus' rule was also termed the 'Golden Age,' and it is believed that Gods themselves walked on the Earth amidst humans during this time. Even in the novel series 'Percy Jackson,' Chiron believed the reign of Kronos was a golden age.

Features Of Cronus

Various depictions of the Greek god Cronus point out his different features. While some portrayals show him as an old, bearded man, other portrayals show him with three heads. Some depictions of Cronus also present him in the form of a snake.

In the earliest Greek myths, Cronus was depicted as a deity with serpent-like features. In addition to that, he was also portrayed with three heads: the head of a man, a bull, and a lion. The serpentine features of Cronus were thought to encircle and surround the entire universe. These features show how powerful and omnipresent Cronus was.

Sometimes, Cronos has also been depicted as 'Father Time.' In these depictions, he was quite old, had a beard, and also carried a scythe.

Cronus was also imagined to be a cruel and merciless ruler among the Greeks who was known for his tyranny.

Even though his rule with Rhea was considered to be a 'Golden Age' for the mortals, the Cronus myth shows how he suddenly became an autocrat and wanted to harm his own children until he was stopped by his youngest son Zeus.

Significance Of Cronus

The story of Cronus is quite significant as it forms a major part of popular Greek mythological tales. The most popular Greek mythological tales revolve around the Olympian Gods Zeus and his siblings and their children.

However, the story of the war between Zeus and Cronus was also important as it shows us the earlier phase of Zeus' life in detail.

Cronus was warned by his parents that someday his own son would overthrow him and take all the power. This made Cronus fearful of his own position, and he started to swallow his own children.

However, his consort Rhea hid her newborn son, the baby Zeus in the city of Crete once he was born. Thereafter, she tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone instead of Zeus.

With time, the deity of thunder Zeus grew up and waged war on his father, forcing him to release the other gods. After that, Zeus became the king of all Greek Gods and ruled them.

After his defeat, some legends say he was imprisoned in Tartarus for his crimes against his children. However, after some time, Zeus made him the king of the Elysian Islands of the blessed dead souls arrived.

In Roman mythology, Cronus was converted into the deity Saturn with a similar story. Saturn was the son of Caelus and the consort of Ops. He was the father of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres, and Vesta. Saturn was considered to be the god of wealth, agriculture, renewal, and liberation.