Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus was a god of the second dynasty. He was married to Rhea, the daughter of Uranus and Gaia. Cronus and Rhea had three sons, Aides, Poseidon, Zeus and three daughters Hestia, Demeter and Hera. Cronus was afraid that his children would rise up against him and thus, fulfil the prediction of his father Uranus. To prevent this, Cronus swallowed each child as soon as it was born much to the dismay of his wife Rhea.
When it came to the last child, Zeus, Rhea attempted to save her child and appealed to her parents, Uranus and Gaia for counsel and assistance. Under their advice, she wrapped a stone in baby clothes which Cronus swallowed without noticing the deception.
To hide Zeus from Cronus, Rhea sent the child to Crete where he was protected and educated. A sacred goat called Amalthea provided him with milk and nymphs called Melissae, fed him with honey. He was brought nectar and ambrosia (food of the gods) by the eagles and the doves.
Zeus thrived under the watchful care of the Nymphs and he developed great physical powers combined with wisdom and intelligence. When he became an adult he was determined to force his father to restore his brothers and sisters to life and is said to have helped to do this by Metis, who persuaded Cronus to drink a potion which caused him to give back the children he had swallowed. The stone which replace Zeus was Delphi and exhibited as a sacred relic.
Cronus was so enraged at Zeus that war broke out between them. The rival forces each ranged themselves on separate mountains in Thessaly. Zeus and his brothers and sisters took their stand on Mount Olympus where he was joined by Oceanus and other Titans who had broken away from Cronus. Cronus and his brother Titans took Mount Othrys.
The war was long and fierce but Zeus, in his wisdom, remembered the existence of the imprisoned Giants and knowing that they would be able to help him obtain victory, attempted to liberate them. He also obtained help from the Cyclopes. The Cyclopes were creatures which had only one eye in the middle of their forehead. They were called Brontes, Steropes and Pyracmon. They were generally known as the sons of Uranus and Gaia although Homer referred to Polyphemus as the chief of the Cyclopes as the son of Poseidon and states that the Cyclopes were his brothers.
The Cyclopes 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 huge earthquakes which swallowed them up and destroyed all who opposed them.
With these powerful beings at his side, Zeus overpowered his enemies and it was said that all nature throbbed in accord with the mighty effort of the celestial deities. Zeus was victorious and Cronus and his armies were completely overthrown. The brothers of Cronus were despatched to the gloomy depths of the lower world and Cronus was banished from his kingdom and deprived of all his supreme power which now belonged to his son Zeus. The war was known as the Titanomachia and is most graphically described by the old classic poets.
With the defeat of Cronus came the end of his ruling as a Greek divinity. Like all gods, however, he was immortal and so was still in existence although he no longer possessed influence or authority and his place was ursurped by his descendent, Zeus.
Cronus is often depicted as an old man leaning on a scythe with an hour glass in his hand. The hour glass symbolises the fast-fleeting moments as they succeed each other unceasingly. The scythe is emblematical of time, which mows down all before it.
References: Myths and Legends of Greece and Rome by E M Berens. August 1892 edition.