Cronus (Saturn)

Cronus was the god of time in its sense of eternal duration. He
married Rhea, daughter of Uranus and Gæa, a very important divinity, to
whom a special chapter will be devoted hereafter. Their children were,
three sons: Aïdes (Pluto), Poseidon (Neptune), Zeus (Jupiter), and three
daughters: Hestia (Vesta), Demeter (Ceres), and Hera (Juno). Cronus,
having an uneasy conscience, was afraid that his children might one day
rise up against his authority, and thus verify the prediction of his
father [15]Uranus. In order, therefore, to render the
prophecy impossible of fulfilment, Cronus swallowed each child as soon as
it was born,^[3] greatly to
the sorrow and indignation of his wife Rhea. When it came to Zeus, the
sixth and last, Rhea resolved to try and save this one child at least, to
love and cherish, and appealed to her parents, Uranus and Gæa, for
counsel and assistance. By their advice she wrapped a stone in
baby-clothes, and Cronus, in eager haste, swallowed it, without noticing
the deception. The child thus saved, eventually, as we shall see,
dethroned his father Cronus, became supreme god in his stead, and was
universally venerated as the great national god of the Greeks.

Anxious to preserve the secret of his existence from Cronus, Rhea sent
the infant Zeus secretly to Crete, where he was nourished, protected, and
educated. A sacred goat, called Amalthea, supplied the place of his
mother, by providing him with milk; nymphs, called Melissae, fed him with
honey, and eagles and doves brought him nectar and ambrosia.^[4] He was kept concealed in a
cave in the heart of Mount Ida, and the Curetes, or priests of Rhea, by
beating their shields together, kept up a constant noise at the entrance,
which drowned the cries of the child and frightened away all intruders.
Under the watchful care of the Nymphs the infant Zeus throve rapidly,
developing great physical powers, combined with [16]extraordinary wisdom and
intelligence. Grown to manhood, he determined to compel his father to
restore his brothers and sisters to the light of day, and is said to have
been assisted in this difficult task by the goddess Metis, who artfully
persuaded Cronus to drink a potion, which caused him to give back the
children he had swallowed. The stone which had counterfeited Zeus was
placed at Delphi, where it was long exhibited as a sacred relic.

Cronus was so enraged at being circumvented that war between the
father and son became inevitable. The rival forces ranged themselves on
two separate high mountains in Thessaly; Zeus, with his brothers and
sisters, took his stand on Mount Olympus, where he was joined by Oceanus,
and others of the Titans, who had forsaken Cronus on account of his
oppressions. Cronus and his brother-Titans took possession of Mount
Othrys, and prepared for battle. The struggle was long and fierce, and at
length Zeus, finding that he was no nearer victory than before, bethought
himself of the existence of the imprisoned Giants, and knowing that they
would be able to render him most powerful assistance, he hastened to
liberate them. He also called to his aid the Cyclops (sons of Poseidon
and Amphitrite),^[5] who had
only one eye each in the middle of their foreheads, and were called
Brontes (Thunder), Steropes (Lightning), and Pyracmon (Fire-anvil). They
promptly responded to his summons for help, and brought with them
tremendous thunderbolts which the Hecatoncheires, with their hundred
hands, hurled down upon the enemy, at the same time raising mighty
earthquakes, which swallowed up and destroyed all who opposed them. Aided
by these new and powerful allies, Zeus now made a furious onslaught on
his enemies, and so tremendous was the encounter that all nature is said
to have throbbed in accord with this mighty effort of the celestial
deities. The sea rose mountains high, and its angry billows [17]hissed and
foamed; the earth shook to its foundations, the heavens sent forth
rolling thunder, and flash after flash of death-bringing lightning,
whilst a blinding mist enveloped Cronus and his allies.

And now the fortunes of war began to turn, and victory smiled on Zeus.
Cronus and his army were completely overthrown, his brothers despatched
to the gloomy depths of the lower world, and Cronus himself was banished
from his kingdom and deprived for ever of the supreme power, which now
became vested in his son Zeus. This war was called the Titanomachia, and
is most graphically described by the old classic poets.

With the defeat of Cronus and his banishment from his dominions, his
career as a ruling Greek divinity entirely ceases. But being, like all
the gods, immortal, he was supposed to be still in existence, though
possessing no longer either influence or authority, his place being
filled to a certain extent by his descendant and successor, Zeus.

Cronus is often represented as an old man leaning on a scythe, with an
hour-glass in his hand. The hour-glass symbolizes the fast-fleeting
moments as they succeed each other unceasingly; the scythe is
emblematical of time, which mows down all before it.

SATURN.

The Romans, according to their custom of identifying their deities
with those of the Greek gods whose attributes were similar to their own,
declared Cronus to be identical with their old agricultural divinity
Saturn. They believed that after his defeat in the [18]Titanomachia and his
banishment from his dominions by Zeus, he took refuge with Janus, king of
Italy, who received the exiled deity with great kindness, and even shared
his throne with him. Their united reign became so thoroughly peaceful and
happy, and was distinguished by such uninterrupted prosperity, that it
was called the Golden Age.

Saturn is usually represented bearing a sickle in the one hand and a
wheat-sheaf in the other.

A temple was erected to him at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, in
which were deposited the public treasury and the laws of the state.