Rhea: Queen Supreme

My depiction of Rhea.

Rhea is undoubtedly one of the most important goddesses of the Titan generation. Aside from being known now as the 'Mother of the Gods', she was also Goddess of the Earth and at one time, a Queen of Heaven.

A 'Natural Woman'

One of the best songs by Aretha Franklin. One of the best phrases to describe Rhea, too.

As an original Titaness (the youngest of them), Rhea represented an aspect of her mother, Gaea, like her sisters. However, in contrast to their powers, she was affiliated with the earth and the natural world more than any one of them was.

Rhea was the goddess of fertility and fruitfulness: the unceasing producer of plant life, as well as the sustainer of the vegetable world. She became primarily responsible for the fertility of the soil-- a role which, I think, being the youngest daughter; she got as a favor from her mother.

Furthermore, she was also the goddess of fertility in womanhood. Her name means "flow" and "ease," Theoi Project says. In this guise, she represented the 'flow' of menstrual blood, birth waters (scientifically called Amniotic fluid, geek alert!), and of course, milk. A natural woman all the way!

In the Pelasgian myth, the goddess Eurynome even partnered Rhea with her brother Cronus (I think that became the start of their 'romantic?' relationship) to preside over the seventh day of the week, and the planet Saturn and its Essence, Peace. We will just have to find out later whatever happened to the two.

Aside from being a nature divinity and a keeper of peace, the goddess also did some part-time job during her single and carefree days. According to Paleothea, she:

... sat outside the house of Nyx beating a bronze drum and making sure all humans were paying attention the oracle of the goddess.

Lady Night must've allocated a lot of funds for the marketing of her oracle; having a Titan royalty for an endorser and all. Or, Rhea had just volunteered to help in her aunt's business. One of the perks of the job, though, is Nyx teaching her serious and secret magic.

Source: click here

How Rhea won Mrs. Universe

Rhea had traveled a long and rather 'wrong' road to the crown. Not that she wanted it; but it's what the situations called for. Let's recount the steps on how she became Queen of Heaven.

Her brother's marriage (with her) 

Rhea must have been in love with her youngest Titan brother Cronus for a long time already; but her marriage to him happened only after the infamous castration of Uranus. Back then, Cronus was everyone's hero, who battled for equality, and freed the world from prejudice. 

(That was in reference to Uranus' supposed hatred against his ugly sons--the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes. If the Titans only knew, Cronus has his personal intentions as well.)

Naturally, all the girls wanted him; but Cronus (who I think was in love with Rhea as well) chose her to be his wife. Rhea thought it was destiny's will, and that dreams do come true. (In the end, it proved to be a nightmare rather than a dream.)

The two begot some beautiful and pretty powerful children:

1. Hestia, fire goddess;
2. Demeter, vegetation goddess;
3. Hades, god of riches;
4. Poseidon, god of earthquakes; and
5. Hera, air goddess.

(NOTE: Those, I believe, were their functions before they became known as the Great Olympians. I've found no reliable reference for this one, though. Just my idea.)

Because of them, Rhea came to be known as Meter Megale and Meter Theon; the Great Mother and the Mother of the Gods.

The family feud

(ANOTHER NOTE: This is my attempt--a rather desperate one--to reconcile conflicting myths about the lordship of the cosmos. Again, no reliable sources found. Be aware.)

The pair did not immediately become king and queen after they deposed Uranus. They still had to get rid of Eurynome, the A-list goddess who assumed the king's role after his 'accident' (it's MY idea. I really have to explain this soon), and her consort, Ophion. Cunning as he had always been, Cronus devised a plan to get the throne--a one on one battle against the couple:

CRONUS vs. OPHION

RHEA vs. EURYNOME

I don't know how Cronus persuaded Rhea to fight beside him against the two. But surely, Rhea had the guts to wrestle with a supreme goddess. Finally, the younger ones defeated the oldies and got hold of their positions as King and Queen of Heaven. As for the losers, they got thrown either to the Ocean or Tartarus.

Rhea must have learned to like the title for herself.

The Golden Age (or not?)

A manga depiction of Cronus and Rhea by Zelda Wang.  Read it here.

The reign of Cronus and Rhea was thereafter known as the GOLDEN AGE, a period of peace and plenty. I have read in Ancient Greek Beliefs by Perry Westmoreland that:

Men of the Golden Age live like gods in tranquility on earth, and they have good relations with the gods and each other...

And more good things were said after that. Blah... blah... blah... However, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, it is said that:

The Golden Age was described as just propaganda by Kronos (Cronus) as in truth he used humans as either cheap entertainment or as a light snack. It's said it was only after Zeus overthrew Kronos (Cronus) and Prometheus gave man fire that they began to rise into Western Civilization. (Source)

Everyone's got an opinion. How about you? What do you think of the Golden Age?

Why Rhea never loved Cronus anymore

Cronus Devouring One Of His Sons
Goya, oil on canvas, 1820-23
Prado Museum, Madrid

Titan marriages have been proven work really well (say Oceanus and Tethys, Hyperion and Theia, Coeus and Phoebe) but Rhea's was an isolated case. And it involved the fate of the world and her children.

The case. Cronus heard through the grapevine about Themis' prophecy concerning the fall of the Titans. Of course, as the top Titan, he didn't at all like the sound of the word fall. He had nightmares about it; he overthought about it; and it drove him nuts. To have his peace of mind, he finally ordered Rhea to bring all of their children to him to devour their Essences (their life force).

(I opted for a milder version because I am still disgusted with the father-eats his-children thing. Just look at the picture. Yuck.)

After that, all five children became nothing but limp vegetables whose bodies were caged in different parts of the cosmos. Here's what I think:

• Hestia in Othrys (the Titans' palace);
• Demeter on Earth;
• Hades in the Underworld;
• Poseidon in the Sea*; and
• Hera in the Ocean*.

*I pointed out in my Tethys article my invented difference between the realms of the Sea and Ocean; the former being marine and the latter estuarine.

Rhea's resolve. Rhea got really mad with what her husband did to their children. When she became pregnant with Zeus, her sixth child, she must have thought,

"I've had enough! Screw him and his glycerin rich diet"

So, she went to ask her mother Gaea to ask for help. And the two goddesses were on their way to raising the supreme god of Greek mythology.

There are so many variations to this myth and so many characters, too. But here's the gist I got from greekgods.org:

Rhea was very much like her mother and loved her children unconditionally, but unfortunately Cronus was like his father, jealous of his children`s powers and in fear of being overthrown. She became mad when Cronus forced her to give him their children to swallow upon their birth. She started plotting against him and by the time he had swallowed Hestia, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, and Demeter, Rhea decided that enough is enough. She gave birth to her last child Zeus in secrecy and gave Cronus a rock, wrapped in a blanket, to swallow instead. Cronus was pleased, not knowing that Zeus was still out there, and thought he was safe from the prophecy. Zeus however, when grown up, came to Mount Othrys as a cupbearer and mixed a potion into Cronus` drink which made him to vomit all of his children. Later in a ten-year war, Zeus and Olympians defeated Cronus and the Titans. They became the next rulers, just like Cronus and his brothers had overthrown Uranus. Rhea in the end was the main reason that history repeated itself.

It is not mentioned there that Rhea enlisted the Curetes, shield clashing daemons, and the nymphs (whose names greatly differ) to help in the baby sitting. I am also guessing that the youthful Zeus went under the alias Welchanos during his service to Cronus as a cupbearer. (Source)

When Cronus learned of Rhea's trick; he exiled her from the heavenly realms FOREVER and got himself a concubine, the Oceanid Philyra, with whom he begot the wise centaur Chiron.

As events showed, Zeus defeated Cronus in a ten year battle and the top Titan was... (poof!)... gone.

Good goddess gone 'wild'?

As a result of Cronus' curse on her, she can't be with her now bigwig children up on Mount Olympus. With nothing else to do, she wandered the mountains and glens losing her care for the world.  She stayed on caverns, which thereafter became sacred to her, and exercised unbounded sway over all animal creation, especially the lions. It is in this guise that the Phrygians came to know her as the goddess Cybele.

She finally retired to her own fabulous palace at the peak of Mount Dindymene in Phrygia, apart from the gods. The Curetes, who were her son's babysitters, served as her attendants. Clashing their cymbals, they partied every night with the Corybantes, Rhea-Cybele's orgiastic dancers.

Once when she had her house warming party where all the gods were invited, her daughter Hestia ALMOST got raped by the pervy Priapus! But that will be on another article.

A second chance in love? A looooong time after the Titanomachy, Rhea (as Cybele or Agdistis) met the beautiful long-haired godling Attis. The two were quite into each other but the foster parents of Attis sent him to Pessinos, where he was to wed the king's daughter. Just as the marriage-song was being sung, Cybele appeared in her transcendent power, and Attis went mad and cut off his genitals. Attis' father-in-law-to-be, the king who was giving his daughter in marriage, followed suit, prefiguring the self-castrating Corybantes who devoted themselves to Cybele. But Cybele repented and saw to it that the body of Attis should neither rot at all nor decay.

And thus ends her short-lived second love story.

Oops, her name is Ops. Sorry for the bad pun. Hehe. Rhea still remained one of the top gods in spite of her not joining the others' company. In Rome, she was known as Ops, the goddess of plenty and fertility. In this guise, she was attended to by the very Roman god Consus (because he has no definite Greek counterpart, that is).

Finally, Rhea in Saturn

Source: click here

Of all the possible means and mediums, it was modern science that finally got to reunite the original couple.

Rhea became the name of Saturn's (Cronus) second largest moon, discovered by Cassini. Read more about it here.

(And should I also mention that rhea also became the name of a bird, a frog and a plant? Makes so much sense for an earth goddess.)

Clash Of The Titanides

I believe that everyone with the slightest knowledge on Greek mythology will at least have an idea or two about the race of beings called TITANS.

Yes. Of course. The Titans. They are ugly giants who fought with Kratos against the Olympians in God of War. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, they are the meanies who took camp on Mount Tam and attempted to storm Olympus which was located on top of the Empire State Building. And lastly, they are the villains released by Hyperion on the Immortals.

In all of those stories (and more), the Titans were generally represented as the eternal enemies of the gods. (I've omitted some parts here as this incites some 'unfavorable' reaction from readers^^). But this notion is not entirely true. The Titans are actually just another race of gods. Some of them were allies of the Olympians; others were even benefactors of mankind. And so to the remaining Titan population, this treatment seems rather unfair and utterly racist (I repeat. They're just another race of gods. No modern implications. Promise.).

And so as the self-proclaimed divine archivist myself, I let them use this blog as a means to clear up their names, particularly the female Titans, upon the request of a concerned Titaness (whose profile is confidential, sorry).

Femme Fatales, the Titanides

The Six Principal Titanides made by me. Yes. Me.

As what I've said, not all the Titans are hideous gigantic monsters (let's admit that some of them actually are) led by their paranoid and cannibalistic king, Cronus (or Kronos, whatever). Also belonging to this race are the Titanides, or the female Titanesses (OMG. This is an extreme case of redundancy).

According to Theoi.com:

The TITANIDES were the six earth-goddess daughters of Heaven (Ouranos) and Earth (Gaia). They were the female counterparts of the Titanes, the primal gods of time, divinities of both Heaven and the Tartarean pit, the cosmic inverse of heaven.

The Titanides represented different aspects of their mother Gaia the Earth: Tethys was the nourishing waters of subterranean springs, nurse of all life; Rheia was nature's fertile mother, and lady of the wilds; Themis was earth's natural order, and prophetic voice; Phoibe was earth's oracular midpoint (Delphoi); Theia was sight, the all-seeing all-knowing earth; Mnemosyne was memory, the preservation of earthly history.

The six original Titanesses were:

1. Tethys, Queen of Ocean;
2. Theia, goddess of light;
3. Phoebe, moon goddess;
4. Themis, goddess of justice;
5. Mnemosyne, goddess of memory; and
6. Rhea, Queen of Heaven

As emanations of their mother, the Great Goddess Gaea, we can just assume that these divinities were no small deal. Before the Olympians took over, the Titanides were the A-list goddesses of the known world. These... ehem... ladies, might also have once had superhuman capabilities (discussed here). On the other hand, they served as the gentler, if not better, counterparts of their Titan husbands/brothers. To keep the scales balanced, so to say.

Titans' Next Top Model. I got the base here. Thankies!

However, Mother Earth's daughters are not the only ones who were given the title. Different sources speak of different goddesses who were also honored as Titanides. Even the names of the principal six differ from author to author. From this point of view, it seems to me that what happened was just a really ancient cycle of America's Next Top Model where everyone has his top picks.

Among the more famous contenders are:

1. Dione, oak goddess (an Oceanid, daughter of Oceanus);
2. Metis, a goddess of wisdom (another Oceanid);
3. Clymene, goddess of fame (Oceanid. Affirmative);
4. Eurynome, meadow goddess (Oceanid, and a mermaid on that note);
5. Styx, goddess of oaths (Oc-... oh no! Not an Oceanid; but she was their sister though);
6. Leto, goddess of daylight;
7. Asteria, goddess of stars (Leto's sister);
8. Selene, moon goddess;
9. Eos, dawn goddess (Selene's sister);
10. Aura, goddess of breezes; and
11. Anchiale, little known goddess of the warmth of fire.

Alas for them, the Uranid (daughters of Uranus, that is) sisters still got the top spots.

The Seven Planetary Powers

I read this random tidbit from a site I accidentally found. It's called Paleothea. If you think of yourself as a feminist and a myth geek at the same time, then this site is perfect for you. Just sayin'.

Okay, the story goes like this:

In the Pelasgian myth, there was this Creatrix goddess known as Eurynome (not to be confused with the Oceanid of the same name). She created the Seven Planetary Powers, putting a Titaness and a Titan over each. Theia and Hyperion were given the Sun and the power of illumination; Phoebe and Atlas were given the Moon and the power of enchantment; Dione and Crius were given the planet Mars and the power of growth; Metis and Coeus were given the planet Mercury and the power of wisdom; Themis and Eurymedon were given the planet Jupiter and the power of law; Tethys and Oceanus were given the planet Venus and the power of love; and Rhea and Cronus took the planet Saturn with the power of peace. (Source)

Source: click here

(Seriously. This myth makes me think of Sailor Moon and other magical girl group types of anime. Yay! Otaku Represent! XD)

From reading and rereading this myth, I've noticed TWO things: 

• It should be noted that seven, instead of six Titanesses were mentioned in this particular story; and
• Mnemosyne was replaced by either Dione or Metis in the lineup. I bet she did not let this issue just pass.

The Essence of Being Women: The Titanides' Case

Sushmita Sen once said, "Just being a woman is God's gift. The origin of a child is a mother, a woman. She shows a man what sharing, caring, and loving is all about. That is the essence of a woman."

And that answer won her the crown for a certain beauty pageant years ago. Well, it's just because it's true... as in the case of the Titan goddesses of Greek mythology.

One main reason why the Titanides became really important in myths is because of their children:

• Tethys was the mother of 3000 Oceanides and All the river gods (she's one busy wife!);
• Theia was the mother of Helios, Selene and Eos (mother of the Winds);
• Phoebe was the mother of Leto and Asteria, who were the mothers of the twins Apollo and Artemis and Hecate respectively;
• Themis was the mother of the Seasons and the Fates;
• Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses;
• Rhea was the mother of the original Olympians Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera;
• Dione was the rumored mother of Aphrodite (no one has confirmed this yet, although we're open to hear Dione's side);
• Metis was the supposed 'mother' of Athena (I'll have to explain this in the future);
• Clymene was the mother of Atlas and Prometheus and the ancestress of mankind;
• Eurynome (the Oceanid, not the Creatrix) was the mother of the Graces;
• Styx was the mother of Victory, Force, Violence and Zeal;
• Anchiale was the mother of the Dactyls.

Their children became the main characters of most of the mythical stories that we know today, and were figures of mass interest. And so, the Titanides were ever renowned in myths as the Mothers of the Gods. You may want to visit a rather persuasive discussion about these 'Mothers' here.

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For the next few days, I will be putting individual entries of the abovementioned Titanides. I just thought that you might be interested in each of these goddesses' personal issues. Stay tuned.