Rhea - The Goddess of The Fertility of The Soil, Women and Motherhood

Who was Rhea? Rhea was a Goddess, she was responsible for the fertility of the soil, women and motherhood. Rhea took over most of these powers from her mother Gaia/Gaea. Rhea was the “Mother of the Gods”, her name means “flow” and “ease”. Rhea was the goddess of motherhood and not only that she saved her children from her brother and husband. Rhea is the daughter of Gaia goddess of earth and Uranus god of the sky. Rhea was seen as a beautiful and motherly woman. Her siblings were Cronus, Coeus, Phoebe, Hyperion, Theia, Iapetus, Clvmene, Mnemosyne, Zeus, Oceanus, Tethys, Crius, Eurybia, and Themis.. She married her brother Cronus god of time she had six children including Hesita, Demeter, Hera, Haides, Poseidon, and Zeus.

People confuse Rhea with her mother sometimes because she carried on a lot of her mother’s traits. Rhea was married to Kronos, also spelled Cronus, he feared that his own child would fight him and replace him as King of the Gods, just like he did with his own father Ouranos.So when Rhea gave birth, Cronus ate his children. They did not die, they remained trapped in his body. Rhea finally grew tired of losing her children in this way. So she managed to get Cronus to take a wrapped rock instead of her newborn baby, Zeus. Zeus was raised in a cave on Crete by the goat nymph Almatheia and was guarded by a group of militant men called the kouretes, who blocked out his cries by banging together their shields, keeping Kronos from learning where Zeus was. Zeus grew up and then fought his father, freeing his brothers and sisters from inside him. Rhea is usually shown as a honorable woman with a spire crown, standing between two lions or on a chariot pulled by lions. The moon is another one of her symbols it represents her role as a fertility Goddess. Her sacred animal is a lion, her sacred plant is a fruit bearing tree and her sacred day is Saturday.

As the wife of Cronus she also represented the eternal flow of time and generations. She had strengths and weaknesses like every other person, her strengths were that she was a fertile mother goddess, and in defence of her children she was crafty and daring. Her weakness was that she put up with Cronus eating her children far to long. Rhea was the goddess of motherhood and not only that she saved her children from her husband. Rhea was an important and strong goddess but what else did she do that no one else knows? Rhea is the mother of Zeus god of thunder and lightning also father of gods, Rhea in my opinion was one of the most important goddess.