Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Mythology explained. In today’s video,
we’re going to be discussing one of the most famous Titans- Cronus. As far as titans
go, I think only Atlas edges him out- the titan sculpted with the world on his shoulders.
Cronus was the Titan God of agriculture, vegetation, fertility, and the harvest. The notion that
he is the God of time is a common misconception. You see, Chronus, the titan king, should not
be confused with Chronus, a primordial deity and the personification of time. The only
association Cronus, the titan king, has with time is as time’s destructive, all-devouring
aspect.
Cronus was the youngest of the original 12 titans, all of whom were the children of Gaia
and Uranus. Though he was the youngest, Cronus was the only one willing to be Gaia’s champion
and free her from the torment of having several of her children imprisoned inside of her.
You see, Uranus despised his younger children, the cyclopes and the hecatonchires, thinking
them abominations, so he kept them imprisoned deep within Gaia, in Tartarus. Of course,
Cronus’ motives for coming to Gaia’s aid were not strictly altruistic. Cronus was jealous
of the power his father possessed as the ruler of the universe, and he wanted that power
for himself.
To aid Cronus in overthrowing his father, Gaia fashioned him a stone sickle. Wielding
this stone sickle, Cronus lay in wait so that he could ambush his father, Uranus, the next
time he made a sexual advance. When Uranus next went to envelope Gaia in a sexual embrace,
Cronus sprung his trap and castrated his father in a surprise attack. Having his testicles
severed from his loins marked the end of Uranus’ rule, and Cronus, having done the deed, became
the new ruler of the universe.
Upon seizing power for himself, Cronus quickly proved to be just as tyrannical as his own
father. Instead of bestowing the cyclopes and the hecatoncheires with freedom, Cronus
elected to reimprison them. This time, though, their chance of escape was made even less
likely, for Cronus set the Dragon Campe as a sentinel to safeguard against anyone escaping
the depths of tartarus.
Cronus took his older sister, Rhea, as his consort, and the two of them claimed the throne.
The period that ensued is known as the golden age, for it was an idyllic time. Despite Cronus
being a tyrant, apparently, this was a really good time for humans. The people of this age
knew not of hardship, suffering, or toil. Rules and laws weren’t conceived because
immorality didn't exist. Everyone always did the right thing. This was a primeval time
of joy, pleasure, and abundance. People didn’t have to work for food, the land provided all
that was needed for sustenance, and during this time, the span of a person’s life was
much longer; and people retained youthfulness deep into their lives.
Alas, this golden age was not to last. Gaia and Uranus divined that Cronus would be dethroned
by his own sons as he himself dethroned his father. When Cronus learned of this, he devised
a plan to prevent his children from ever being able to challenge him. He made his wife present
him with each of their children as soon as they were born, and he swallowed them whole
as infants. He swallowed Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Having her children
devoured in front of her became more unbearable for Rhea each time she lost one of her children.
Eventually, she seeks out Gaia and implores her to help save her youngest child, Zeus.
Gaia is sympathetic to her plight and grants her aid. Rhea births Zeus in Crete without
Cronus’ knowledge, and this secret birth gives Rhea the opportunity to trick her husband.
Instead of presenting Zeus to Cronus, she deceives him by presenting him a stone swaddled
in baby’s clothes. Without even a cursory inspection Cronus promptly swallows the stone,
failing to ingest his youngest son and sealing his own fate.
Zeus is reared in secret, and once fully-grown, contrives for Cronus to imbibe an emetic that
Gaia gives to him. The substance causes Cronus to purge, and from him, Zeus’ five siblings
emerge, fully grown. After reuniting with his siblings, Zeus frees the cyclopes and
the Hecatoncheires, which precipitates the Titanomachy, which is the cataclysmic war
fought between the gods and the titans. After a protracted and incredibly destructive war,
the titans are defeated.
What ultimately becomes of Cronus depends on which account you’re reading. Some say
he was hacked to pieces and then imprisoned in tartarus, others that he was imprisoned
forever in the dwelling of Nyx, the personification of night. One more optimistic account has
Cronus later freed by Zeus and then made the king of Elysium, and another account has Zeus
Castrating Cronus, repeating what Cronus did to his own father.
And that’s it for today’s video. If you enjoyed it, please remember to like the video
and subscribe to the channel. Until next time:
All strangers and beggars are from zeus, and a gift, though small, is precious.