Rhea's Triumph: Overthrowing Kronos

She was a Greek Titan Goddess, she was the Goddess of motherhood, and fertility. She took over most of her traits from her mother Gaia Goddess of earth. She was known as the “Mother of God” because she was the mother of the most powerful Titan Gods. Rhea was known as my Goddess such as the “Goddess of comfort and ease” “Goddess of generations” “Goddess of women”. Rhea married her brother and had six kids with him but she saved her children from her husband.

Rhea has two sacred animals its a swan because it symbolizes gentleness and peace, and her other animal is a lion. Her sacred plant is a Fir tree, her sacred day is Saturday and her symbol is a turret crown. Rhea was known as a beautiful woman she was also known as a motherly woman because of how much she loved her children. (greek-gods.org) Rhea was the daughter of Gaia Goddess of the earth and Uranus God of the sky. She had a few siblings which were Cronus, Hyperion, Lapetus, Theia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. Rhea was a lot like her mother, she loved her children very much but her brother Cronus was a lot like his father, he feared that he would be overpowered by his children. Rhea became mad because Cornus forced her to give him the children when they were born to eat them. Once he had her first 5 children inside of him Rhea was tired of it. She gave birth to her last child in Zeus in secret because she began plotting something, instead of giving Cornus Zeus she gave him a rock wrapped in a blanket to eat instead. Cronus thought he was safe from the prophecy. Rhea hid Zeus in a cave in Crete so he could be raised by nymphs. Zeus was raised there, when he grew older he gave Rhea a potion that had a mixture of mustard, wine, and a herb that would make Cronus throw up his children. He did so the ten-year war started, Zeus and the Olympians defeated Cronus and the Titans. History repeated itself because they defeated Cronus and became the next rulers just like Cronus and his brothers did in the past when they overthrew their father. (Aaron J Atsma)

Rhea is usually shown as an honorable woman with a spire crown, standing between two lions or she would be on a chariot pulled by two lions. Another one of her symbols is the moon representing her role as a fertility Goddess. She had strengths and weaknesses like every other person, her strengths were that she was a fertile Goddess, and in defense of her children, she was a crafty and daring person. Her weakness was that she put up with Cronus eating her children for too long and saving them at a later time. 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 the father of Gods. Rhea was the Goddess of all Goddesses.

The Myth of Rhea and Kronos

Once Kronos had returned home he saw that his sister Rhea was there waiting for him, still in love with him. Soon after she found out she was bearing his child which caused extreme concern for Kronus as he remembered his father's curse. As soon as the child was born, a girl named Hestia, Kronos took the child from Rhea and ate her before walking away without a word. Rhea was to have four more children and Kronus would do the same with them all. That was until Rhea was pregnant with her sixth child.

At the start of her plan, Rhea went to visit the she-goat Amalthea in Crete and the manna guarding nymphs who would look after her baby to hide it from Kronos. Rhea tricked Kronus by faking labour and cradling a stone shaped like a baby which he ate without looking. After this she took herself to Crete to have her baby and would leave him, Zeus, there to grow being looked after in secret. Zeus grew up healthy and strong eating the manna from the nymphs and the milk from Amalthea whilst regularly having visits from his mother. During these visits she would teach him from a young age that they were to get revenge on his father for what he has done to the other brothers and sisters he was supposed to have.

As Zeus was growing up, Rhea asked Metis to educate Zeus for what was to come and how he should conduct himself through patience and inner strength. Zeus was openly in love with Metis, which was returned but never spoken of to Zeus by Metis. This only strengthened his love for her. On his 17th birthday he found Metis making a potion who said it was part of a plan that his mother would later explain to him. During this explanation mother and son both vowed that they were ready to avenge Rhea’s eaten children.

Back at Mount Othrys, Kronos was unsatisfied with having power over everything and was full of rage fuelled by sleep deprivation. He heard Rhea approaching him which spurred him to attention declaring his love for her as they had been distant recently, unknown to Kronos, due to him eating her newborn children to save himself. Rhea handed him the potion that Metis had prepared earlier whilst telling him she had found him a young boy to be his new cup bearer. During this conversation it came out that there was one child he had not managed to destroy, but as the shock was setting in for Kronus he began to choke and vomit, spewing out the stone that was the decoy for the sixth baby. Along with the stone came all the brothers and sisters he had eaten - Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon and Hera - before passing out in a deep sleep. The original plan was to behead Kronus using the scythe, however as the scythe was a gift from Gaia to him it could not be used to destroy him with Zeus not even being able to even lift it. Rhea decided it could wait and they should make the most of the evening as they were reunited with the missing children. They spent the night celebrating together, naming Zeus as their leader, plans for overthrowing Kronus were made and they disowned the title of Titans and began to identify themselves as The Gods.

Rhea and her newly released children escaped the Titan country under the cover of night and fled from the fury that was sure to come from the Titans once they realised what had happened to Kronos. What followed next was a ten year war known as the Titanomachy then shaped and moved the land to what it is now. The new gods were hugely outnumbered during the war with everyone siding with Kronos except Prometheus and Epimetheus. Metis suggested to Zeus that he should offer Kronus’ imprisoned triplet brothers freedom if they fought on his side, which they did. It was the Cyclopes who crafted the lightning bolts - that Zeus is well known for- to fight against the Titans. In the end the Titans surrendered.