Creation Story, Cronus and Rhea
Birth of Zeus

According to Greek mythology, in the beginning there was nothing. This was called Chaos. From this nothingness came light, Mother Earth (Gaia) and Sky (Uranus) were formed. From Gaia and Uranus came six twins known as the Titans. The six twin Titans were named Oceanus and Thethys, Coeos and Phoebe, Hyperion and Thea, Creos and Themis, Iapetos and Clymene, and finally Cronos and Rhea.

Gaia and Uranus also gave birth to three Cyclopes, three giants, each with fifty heads and one-hundred arms. Uranus disliked his offspring, so he forced them to return to their mother’s womb. The pain of carrying the numerous children angered Gaia, and she made a plan for revenge against Uranus. She called upon the Titans to help her. The youngest, Cronos (master of time), came to her aid. Cronos, with his mother’s help, created a sickle and cut off his father’s genitals when his father came to be with his mother.

Cronos cast the cut off genitals into the sea. According to some versions of the myth, the goddess Aphrodite was created from the blood that dropped into the sea. In addition some of the blood dropped on to the earth creating all types of scary offspring.

After defeating his father, Cronos married his sister Rhea. The two had six children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Cronos, after each birth, swallowed the first five children because of a prophecy that climed one of his children would overthrow him. Rhea tricked Cronos with the sixth child. Zeus, instead of handing Cronos the child, she gave him a rock in a blanket. Cronos swallowed it believing it was the baby. Rhea then smuggled the baby Zeus to the island of Crete to be raised by nymphs. Later Zeus would return to defeat his father in the battle between the Olympians and the Titans.

Major Gods and Goddesses