![]() Both were pushed toward rebellion by the maternal anger of Gaia. The stories of how Cronos and Zeus came to power and tried to hold onto it are filled with similarities.īoth were the youngest children of the ruler of the gods. Their only son, Ares, was no match for his father in power, popularity, or ambition. Zeus finally married his own sister, Hera. He abandoned the relationship before a child could be conceived, and instead arranged for Thetis to marry a human man. The king of the gods courted another Titaness, Thetis, before learning that she too would have a son greater than his father. Gaia had specifically said that he would be destroyed by his son, not his daughter, so Athena was welcomed among the gods as Zeus’s favored child. While Athena survived, she posed no threat to Zeus’s rule. The goddess Athena was born from her own father’s head several months after he swallowed Metis. He did not realize, however, that Metis was already pregnant. Rather than swallow his child, Zeus turned his wife into a fly and swallowed her instead. Zeus knew from experience that Cronos had made a mistake by allowing his children to be born at all. When he married Metis, Gaia gave him the same grim news his father had once heard – his new bride’s son would one day take his place as king of the gods. Zeus was still not secure in his position, though. He and his brothers were locked in Tartarus where they could not threaten the new gods of Mount Olympus. Zeus and his brothers won Gaia to their side by finally freeing her children, who proved to be valuable allies.Ĭronos was eventually defeated by both strength in arms and the superior cunning of his children. The Titanomachy, or war with the Titans, lasted for ten years. Any gods who helped them overthrow Cronos would be rewarded with a place in the new hierarchy. Zeus and his siblings declared war on their father. With the help of a Titaness named Metis, he slipped his father a purgative that caused him to spit out his five older children. When he had grown, Zeus disguised himself as a simple cupbearer to get close to Cronos. Zeus was raised in hiding by nymphs with a pair of giants to guard over him. The earth mother helped Rhea hide her pregnancy and give birth in secret. Not only had he hurt Rhea by depriving her of her children, but he had also failed in his promise to free Gaia’s own imprisoned offspring. When she fell pregnant for a sixth time, she asked her mother for help. His wife and sister, Rhea, was becoming increasingly distressed with the loss of each of her children. He swallowed five babies in total, three daughters and two sons. To keep this from happening, Cronos swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born. He had been warned by Gaia that one of his children would someday grow to overpower him and take his throne. The Titans flourished, marrying one another and bringing forth another generation of gods.Ĭronos was uneasy in power, however. He castrated his father, depriving him of power and banishing him to the sky.Īs the defeater of Uranus, Cronos took power as king over his siblings. When Uranus descended toward Gaia, Cronos attacked him with a sickle. He and Gaia set a trap to capture the sky god when he was vulnerable. The furious mother earth asked her sons to help her seek vengeance against their father.Ĭronos was the only one who was willing to openly challenge Uranus. Uranus, however, angered Gaia when he locked six of her offspring, the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchieres, away in Tartarus as monsters. There were twelve Titans, six male and six female, who were ruled over by their primordial father. He was the youngest son of Uranus and Gaia. ![]() ![]() The Battle Between Zeus and His Father Cronos He maintained power and became the first king of the gods who could live alongside his children without fearing them. He successfully ended the cycle of sons seizing power from their father.īy learning from his father’s mistakes, Zeus avoided his fate. Zeus, however, was able to do what his father and grandfather could not. He was not successful, however, and when Zeus grew to adulthood he continued the cycle by deposing his father with violence and banishing him as well. Fearful that the same thing would happen to him, he tried to then prevent his six children from growing to adulthood. The Titan ruler had won power by attacking his own father. Cronos was more than Zeus’s father, he was also his predecessor as king of the gods.
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