The mythology of Ancient Greece has survived through into the modern day, and the tales and exploits of the Greek gods and mortal heroes still enthrall millions of readers each year. These tales though often purely focus on the time when the Olympian gods were ruling over the world from Mount Olympus, there was though a period of Greek mythology that predates the likes of Zeus, Hades and other Olympians. This period was known as the "Golden Age", and was a time when the Titans ruled the world, and the leader of the twelve main Titans was Chronos.
Translation of ancient Greek to modern English has created some confusion about the link of Chronos the Titan with Chronus, Father Time. It is of course not uncommon for different beings from Greek mythology to have the same name but this article focuses on the leader of the Titans.
Chronos is more commonly known as Cronus or Kronos in the English language, and was the youngest of the children of the rulers of the universe, Ouranos and Gaia. Ouranos, also known as the sky, was supreme ruler of everything, and ruled along with his wife, Gaia, the earth. It was not marital bliss between husband and wife though, and Ouranos had angered his wife be imprisoning their other children, the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires, in Tartarus. Cronus and the other Titans though were not imprisoned, and it was Cronus who was the biggest threat to Ouranos, as he was power hungry.
Gaia sought revenge on her husband and devised an adamant sickle with which he could be defeated. Cronus willingly took up the sickle and used it on his father. The sickle was used to castrate Ouranos, with the resulting blood causing the birth of the Gigantes, Meliae and Erinyes, whilst the fallen penis eventually turned into the goddess Aphrodite. The castrated Ouranos was powerless to prevent Cronus taking over, and so began the rule of the twelve Titans with Cronus in charge.
The Titans ruled in pairs, Cronus paired with the female Titan Rhea, whilst the other pairs were Oceanus and Tethys; Hyperion and Theia; Coeus and Phoebe; Mnemosyne and Themis; and Crius and Iapetus.
There are various tales about the rule of Cronus some tell of peace and justice, others tell of cruel and ruthless rule. The naming of the period as the "Golden Age", indicates a bountiful period, and yet Cronus decided to keep his siblings the Cyclopes, Gigantes and Hecatonchires imprisoned in Tartarus.
The stories of Greek mythology though tend to display Cronus as a cruel ruler and Zeus as the righteous revengeful son. It is at this point that the stories of the Olympian gods commence. Cronus was told of a prophecy that foretold that history was to repeat itself and that Cronus's own offspring would rise up against him. Cronus and Rhea went onto father Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus. Rather than allowing them to pose a danger to him though he ensured that after each was born he ate them so that they would be prisoners within his stomach though. Just as the actions of Ouranos had angered Gaia, so the actions of Cronus angered Rhea.
So once Zeus was born rather than allowing him to be swallowed by Cronus, Rhea gave Cronus a large stone to swallow rather than her child. Zeus was hidden away in the Mount Ida cave on Crete. There he was raised at the hands of either a nymph known as Adamanthea, or a goat called Amalthea. Zeus was hidden away until he matured and was strong enough to seek his revenge.
Zeus knew he needed allies though so sought the release of his siblings from the stomach of Cronus. As such Cronus was given him a poison that made him regurgitate Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia and Poseidon
The prophecy of Cronus's downfall was to come true as the Titanomachy started. The Titanomachy was the fight between the Titans and the forces lead by Zeus. Cronus left much of the fighting of the ten year war to younger Titans, under the leadership of Atlas. In general terms the Titans were the stronger, but Zeus was clever enough to find himself allies. Zeus released the Cyclopes, Gigantes and Hecatonchires from Tartarus. The Hecatonchires were giants with fifty arms and a hundred eyes who were able to thrown whole mountains at the Titans. It was though the Cyclopes who played the major role in the battle, as it was they who forged the weapons for the Olympians. The thunderbolts of Zeus were created, with Arges creating the brightness, Brontes, the thunder and Steropes, the lightning. With the help and the weapons, Zeus and his siblings were ultimately successful in overthrowing the reign of the Titans.
After Zeus came to power there are few tales that tell of what happened to Cronus. Some tales tell that he was kept prisoner in Tartarus alongside the majority of other Titans, guarded by his own siblings the Hecatonchires. Some other tales tell that he was imprisoned alone in the cave if Nyx, a few other tales even tell that Cronus was forgiven by Zeus and made the King of the paradise realm of the Elysian Fields.
This redemption is also seen in the fact that Cronus was worshipped on the twelfth of each and every month by Athenians. This worship came from the association that was made between Cronus and good harvests as seen during the "Golden Age" of his rule. The Romans used Cronus as the model for Saturn, although Saturn has tended to be much more widely worshipped and seen as a more forgiving god.