Cronus (Greek) / Saturn (Roman)
Youngest son of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth)
All of Gaia's children were held captive in her womb, so she gave her son Cronus a sharp flint chip so they could come out. The next time Gaia and Uranus were “together”, Cronus attacked his father from inside and took over the world. The Furies, nymphs and giants were created from the blood of the detached parts. In another myth, Cronus threw the parts into the sea where foam around them formed Aphrodite, goddess of love.
When Cronus reached adulthood, his wife Rhea wanted children, but he swallowed them as soon as they were born. He feared Gaia’s prophecy that he would be dethroned by one of them. Rhea saved her last son, Zeus, by wrapping a rock in swaddling clothes and giving it to Cronus in his place. With Gaia's assistance, she brought Zeus to a cavern in Crete to be cared for by nymphs.
After Zeus was older, he enlisted the help of the Titans and cast his father into Tartarus, the dark void in the Underworld (see Hades). There, one hundred-armed monsters held him captive on high surveillance. In another story, Cronus was banished with his cohorts to a deserted island near Britain. In Hesiod's telling from 700 B.C., Cronus ruled over the first men in the Golden Age, a time without affliction and troubles. He was overthrown to allow the Mount Olympus gods to ascend to supremacy.
Extra Notes: Good Saturn
Saturn, just like Cronus, presided over the Golden Age. However, he also showed people how to care for their fields and lives in a civilized manner. Saturn's temple was built around the 5 B.C., in the Forum in Rome, Italy. The Saturnalia, a festival in his honor, lasted a week and began sometime in December. People held feasts and gave gifts, and slaves were given freedom for the duration of the celebration. Saturn possibly shared more similarities with Demeter, the Greek agricultural goddess, but he remained the same god as Cronus.