Cronus | |
---|---|
Titan of the Harvest | |
Abode | Mount Othrys |
Symbol | Sickle, scythe, grain, snake, and harpe |
Consort | Rhea |
Parents | Uranus and Gaia |
Siblings |
|
Children | Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, Chiron |
Roman equivalent | Saturn |
In Greek mythology, Cronus, or Kronos (/ˈkroʊnəs/ or /ˈkroʊnɒs/ from Greek: Κρόνος, krónos), was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth. He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus.
Cronus was usually depicted with a harpe, scythe or a sickle, which was the instrument he used to castrate and depose Uranus, his father. In Athens, on the twelfth day of the Attic month of Hekatombaion, a festival called Kronia was held in honour of Cronus to celebrate the harvest, suggesting that, as a result of his association with the virtuous Golden Age, Cronus continued to preside as a patron of harvest. Cronus was also identified in classical antiquity with the Roman deity Saturn.