Cronos
In Greek mythology, Cronos was the youngest of the Titans,
the 12 children of Ouranos (Heaven)
and Gaia (Earth). Cronos became supreme
ruler by killing his father. He then married his sister Rhea.
As soon as Rhea bore children, Cronos swallowed them, lest they usurp
his power. In this way he temporarily disposed of Hestia,
Demeter, Hera,
Hades, and Poseidon.
When the sixth child, Zeus, was born, Rhea
hid him and gave Cronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow.
After Zeus grew to manhood, he returned to his father and gave him an emetic,
causing Cronos to regurgitate all the children he had swallowed. A 10-year
struggle followed between the children of Cronos, led by Zeus, and the
Titans, led by Cronos. Eventually the Titans were defeated, and Cronos
was exiled. The poet Hesiod tells the story of Cronos in the Theogony and
the Works and Days. Later, the old Roman agrarian god Saturn became identified
with Cronos.