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Greek Mythology > Immortals > Kronos

Kronos   KROH nuhs

• Father of Zeus and sire of the Olympians
• Kronos in The Iliad (reference)
• Kronos in The Odyssey (reference)
• How to Cite this Page

Father of Zeus and sire of the Olympians

A fearful god and jealous of his inevitable passing, Kronos was a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, husband and brother of Rheia.

Kronos killed his father Uranus and tried, unsuccessfully, to kill his children. Rheia had five children and Kronos swallowed them whole as quickly as they were born. When her sixth child, Zeus, was born, Rheia tricked Kronos and gave him a stone instead of the baby. Kronos didn’t find out about the deception until it was too late. Zeus ambushed Kronos and kicked him so hard he vomited forth the other, swallowed, gods, fully grown: Hades, Hestia, Demeter, Hera and Poseidon.

Zeus was made leader by his grateful siblings and each took a portion of creation as their dominion. A war was declared against the Titans and those who would not yield to the authority of Zeus were utterly destroyed. The Titans who fought alongside Zeus and the other Olympians were allowed to keep their rank and power in the new order. The river Styx and her children were the first to come to Zeus’ side. Thereafter, Styx was given a place of honor (and dread) among the immortals as The Oath River.

Zeus exiled Kronos to Tartaros but later he allowed his broken and defeated father to join the Heroes in a paradise at the end of the world.

He is often confused with the Roman god, Saturn.

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Kronos in The Iliad (listed by book and line)

• 04.059 ...Hera reminds Zeus that she was the first daughter of devious Kronos (Cronos)
• 05.362 ...The wounded Aphrodite asks Ares for his chariot and says that Diomedes is so bold he would fight against Zeus’ father, Kronos (Cronos)
• 05.457 ...Apollon speaks to Ares about the violence of Diomedes and says that he would even do battle with Zeus’ father
• 05.720 ...Hera, daughter of Kronos (Cronos), prepares her chariot on Mount Olympos (Olympus)
• 06.234 ...Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), took away the wits of Glaukos (Glaucus) and made him exchange his golden armor for the bronze armor of Diomedes
• 06.268 ...Hektor (Hector) tells his mother, Hekabe (Hecabe), that he cannot pour a libation of wine to the son of Kronos (Cronos) with blood-spattered hands
• 07.069 ...Hector (Hector) says that Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), has evil intentions towards both armies
• 07.194 ...After his lot is drawn, Aias tells the assembled Akhaians (Achaeans) to pray to Zeus, son of Kronos (Cronos), for his victory over Hektor (Hector)
• 07.200 ...The Akhaians (Achaeans) prayed to Zeus that Aias would defeat Hektor (Hector)
• 07.208 ...Ares dressed Aias in bronze and he walked as if the son of Kronos (Cronos) had filled him with hatred
• 07.315 ...Agamemnon sacrificed a five year old ox to Zeus, son of almighty Kronos (Cronos)
• 07.481 ...The soldiers poured libations to the son of Kronos (Cronos) when they heard him thundering
• 08.479 ...Zeus tells Hera that he will give Hektor (Hector) glory in battle and that he does not care what she does or where she goes, she cannot change his mind even if she goes to Tartaros (Tartarus) where Iapetos (Iapetus) and Kronos (Cronos) are seated
• 14.204 ...Hera tells Aphrodite that she is preparing to go to the depths of Okeanos (Oceanus) to see Tethys because Tethys took her from Rheia (Rhea) and cared for her when Zeus was warring with his father, Kronos (Cronos)
• 15.187 ...Poseidon tells Iris that he, Zeus and Hades were born to Rheia (Rhea) and Kronos (Cronos)
• 15.225 ...Zeus tells Apollon that if Poseidon had not obeyed him and gone back into the sea, there would have been a fight that Kronos (Cronos) and the other gods beneath the earth would have heard
• 21.185 ...Akhilleus (Achilles) tells the Trojan, Asteropaios (Asteropaeus), that someone descended from Kronos (Cronos) is stronger than someone descended from a river

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Kronos in The Odyssey (listed by book and line)

• 01.045 ...Answering Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), Athene (Athena) says that the death of Aegisthus (Aigisthos) was well deserved because he murdered Agamemnon
• 01.081 ...Athene (Athena) tells Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), that she wants to go to the island of Ithaka (Ithaca) and assure Odysseus’ son, Telemakhos (Telemachus), that his father will return home
• 01.386 ...When Telemakhos (Telemachus) spoke harshly to his mother’s suitors, Antinoos (Antinous) said that he hoped the son of Kronos (Cronos) would never make such a brash young man the ruler of Ithaka (Ithaca)
• 03.088 ...Telemakhos (Telemachus) tells Nestor that the son of Kronos (Cronos) has made the fate of his father, Odysseus, a mystery
• 03.119 ...Nestor tells Telemakhos (Telemachus) that, after nine years of fighting at Troy, the son of Kronos (Cronos) finally ended the war
• 04.207 ...Menelaos (Menelaus) tells Peisistratos (Peisistratus) that he is as well spoken as his father, Nestor, and it’s easy to see why the son of Kronos (Cronos) granted his family good fortune
• 04.699 ...The faithful servant, Medon, tells Penelope that the suitors are plotting to kill Telemakhos (Telemachus) and he hopes that the son of Kronos (Cronos) will foil their plan
• 07.316 ...King Alkinoos (Alcinous) tells Odysseus that he may stay or go as he pleases because Zeus’ father would not approve if he was detained against his will
• 08.290 ...Ares waited for Aphrodite until she left the house of her father, the son of Kronos (Cronos)
• 09.552 ...After escaping from the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus sacrificed a ram to Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos)
• 10.021 ...The son of Kronos (Cronos) made Aiolos (Aeolus) lord of the Winds; Aiolos gave Odysseus a bag with the Winds trapped inside so that he could sail home without being blown off course
• 11.620 ...At the entrance to the Underworld, the ghost of Herakles (Heracles) tells Odysseus that he is the son of Kronian Zeus
• 12.399 ...After six stormy days on the island of Thrinakia (Thrinacia), the son of Kronos (Cronos) finally calmed the winds and Odysseus and his crew sailed away from the island
• 13.025 ...King Alkinoos (Alcinous) sacrificed an ox for Zeus, son of Kronos (Cronos)
• 14.184 ...The swineherd, Eumaios (Eumaeus), tells the disguised Odysseus that Telemakhos (Telemachus) has left the island and that the son of Kronos (Cronos) may, or may not, be protecting him
• 14.406 ...The swineherd, Eumaios (Eumaeus), tells the disguised Odysseus that he could easily murder a guest, such as Odysseus, and then pray to Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos)
• 15.477 ...The swineherd, Eumaios (Eumaeus), tells the disguised Odysseus how he was kidnapped as a child and how when Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), brought the seventh day, Artemis killed the nurse who had taken him from his family
• 16.117 ...Telemakhos (Telemachus) explains that the son of Kronos (Cronos) made his family line with one son for each father; Arkeisios (Arceisius) > Laertes > Odysseus > Telemakhos
• 16.291 ...Odysseus tells his son, Telemakhos (Telemachus), that the son of Kronos (Cronos) gave him the idea to hide all the weapons except two pairs of swords and spears
• 17.424 ...The disguised Odysseus tells the suitor, Antinoos (Antinous), that he was sent to Egypt by Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), after the fall of Troy
• 18.376 ...The disguised Odysseus tells the suitor, Eurymakhos (Eurymachus), that when the son of Kronos (Cronos) brings on a battle, he will be at the forefront of the battle
• 19.080 ...The disguised Odysseus tells Penelope that he once had riches but Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), took them away
• 20.236 ...The herdsman, Philoitios (Philoetius), tells the disguised Odysseus that if the son of Kronos (Cronos) brings Odysseus home to punish the suitors, he will lend his strength to the effort
• 20.273 ...After hearing the bitter words of Telemakhos (Telemachus), the suitor, Antinoos (Antinous), tells the other suitors that the only reason Telemakhos is still alive is because Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), prevented his death
• 21.102 ...Telemakhos (Telemachus) declares that Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), has taken away his wits because he laughed when his mother, Penelope, said that she would marry one of the suitors
• 21.415 ...After the disguised Odysseus strung the bow, he heard the thunder of Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), and knew that it was the omen he had prayed for
• 22.051 ...After Odysseus reveals his true identity to the suitors and kills Alkinoos (Alcinous), Eurymakhos (Eurymachus) says that Alkinoos was the worst of the suitors and wanted to kill Telemakhos (Telemachus) but the son of Kronos (Cronos) stopped him
• 24.472 ...Athene (Athena) asks Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), how he intends to end Odysseus’ conflict with the men of Ithaka (Ithaca)
• 24.539 ...When Odysseus tried to pursue the fleeing men of Ithaka (Ithaca), Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos), hurled a lightning bolt in front of him and Athene (Athena)
• 24.544 ...Athene (Athena) tells Odysseus to hold back his anger lest he enrage Zeus, the son of Kronos (Cronos)

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