One of the 12 titans in Greek mythology, Kronos, is pronounced Kro · nus (krō′nəs). He is the father of Zeus. The alternate spellings of his name include Chronus, Chronos, Cronus, Kronos, and Kronus.
Kronos attributes
Kronos is represented as a vigorous, tall and powerful man, or as an old man with a beard. It does not have a distinctive symbol, but is sometimes shown showing part of the zodiac: the ring of star symbols. In his elder form, he generally has an exceptionally long beard and can carry a cane. Her strengths include determination, rebellion, and being a good time keeper, while her weaknesses include jealousy of her own children and violence.
The Kronos family
Kronos is the son of Uranus and Gaia. He is married to Rea, who is also a Titan. It had a temple on the Greek island of Crete at Phaistos, an ancient Minoan site. His children are Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Also, Aphrodite was born from her severed member, which Zeus threw into the sea. None of his sons were particularly close to him: Zeus had the most interaction with him, but even then, that was only to castrate Kronos, just as Kronos himself had done with his own father, Uranus.
Temples of Kronos
Kronos generally did not have temples of its own. Eventually, Zeus forgave his father and allowed Kronus to be king of the Elysian Isles, an area of the Underworld.
Background story
Kronos was the son of Uranus (or Uranus) and Gaia, goddess of the earth. Uranus was jealous of his own offspring, so he imprisoned them. Gaia asked her sons, the Titans, to castrate Uranus and Kronus bound. Unfortunately, Kronos was later afraid that his own children would take over his power, so he consumed each child as soon as his wife, Rea, gave birth to them. Annoyed, Rhea eventually substituted a blanket-wrapped stone for her latest newborn son, Zeus, and brought the real baby to Crete for Amaltheia, a cave-dwelling goat nymph, to raise her there safely.
Zeus eventually castrated Kronos and forced him to regurgitate Rhea’s other children. Fortunately, Kronos had swallowed them whole, so they escaped without any lasting injury. It is not seen in the myths if they ended up being a bit claustrophobic after their time in their father’s stomach.
Interesting data
Kronos was combined with Cronos, the personification of time, since ancient times, although the confusion solidified during the Renaissance when Kronos was considered the God of Time. It is natural for a God of Time to endure, and Kronos still survives in New Years celebrations as “Father Time”, who is replaced by the “New Years Baby”, usually wrapped in loose swaddling clothes, a form of Zeus that even remembers the “rock” wrapped in cloth. In this way, it is often accompanied by a watch or watch of some kind.
There is a New Orleans carnival team named for Kronos. The word stopwatch, another term for a timekeeper like a watch, is also derived from the name Kronos, as is chronograph and similar terms. In modern times, this ancient deity is well represented.
The word “old woman”, which means old woman, can also be derived from the same root as Kronos, albeit with a change of sex.
