Chronos!!!

Wow. We’re in June now, the sixth month of this year! I don’t know about you but this year is flying by so fast! I was talking with a friend about when was the last time I saw him. I thought it was fairly recently, but it turned up it was end of January! OK, I have been very busy working, travelling, getting ready for my race in March or doing new stuff on my evenings and spending lots of time with ‘JJ’. However, I can’t but feel sad at how time flies. Chronos can be a total bitch.

Chronos (time in Greek) personified was the ruler of the Titans, the elder gods. They ruled the world before the arrival of the Olympian gods. Don’t get confused from movies like the ‘Clash of the Titans’. Movies like that or series like ‘Hercules’ are totally, absolutely and utterly mythological incorrect. Don’t get me wrong, I do like sometimes watching them (especially if Sam Worthington is in them) but Greek Mythology is a bit different.

So, let’s get back to the story of Chronos. He was the son of Uranus (sky god and first ruler) and Gaea (Earth goddess). Chronos became the ruler of all the Titans by overthrowing his father, in details by castrating him. That story about how this happened is a bit long and had many effects on the world. What I mostly remember is the fact that from Uranus’ testicles the goddess of beauty, love and sexuality Aphrodite emerged!

Chronos mutilating Uranus by Vasari and Gherardi 16th century

Anyway, Chronos became the king of all Titans taking as his queen, his sister Rhea. There weren’t many candidates to choose from! His rule was impeccable and mankind lived in a world without immorality and corruption. There was no need for laws and rules and everybody lived happily! However, Uranus and Gaea predicted that Chronos would be overthrown by his own son. I bet Uranus was very happy about this. This prophesies really shocked the power hungry Chronos. As a result he decided not to let any of his children live. To be sure he was swallowing them at birth.

Goya's Saturn (Chronos) devouring his children (1819 - 1823)

Rhea not being too happy that her dear husband was eating her children, she decided to hide one of them from him. So, with the help of her mother, Gaea, she went to the island of Crete and on Ida Mountain, in a cave, she gave birth to Zeus (I’ve been to this cave). Zeus was raised by a goat called Amalthea. When he came of age, he declared war on his father. He even made Chronos disgorge all Rhea’s sons and daughters.

Together with his brother and sisters and some other mythological creatures like the Cyclopes, Zeus overthrew his father and the other Titans, in a world shaking battle called Titanomachy. The defeated Titans were imprisoned in the underworld, in Tartara. Zeus then became the god of the skies and ruler of the Olympians.

1st Century Bronze statue of either Zeus or Poseidon

To sum everything up, Chronos even though he was a good ruler of the world, he was power mad devouring his children and castrating his own father. That’s what I call bad karma…