Cronus

Cronus (also spelled Kronos or Cronos) was god of the Universe in Greek mythology. He was the youngest of the Titans born of Gaea and Uranus. On the instigation of his mother Gaea, he castrated his father Uranus, and unthroned him and seized the throne for himself. He ruled for many ages. He imprisoned his brothers, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, in Tartarus.

He married his sister Rhea. However, he feared his sons, because Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that he would be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children, five in succession, as they were born.

Rhea, being angry at the treatment, ploted against him. When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, she hid herself, gave birth to a child, and left the it to be raised by nymphs. In place of the child, she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.

This child, Zeus, grew into a handsome youth on Crete. He consulted Metis on how to defeat Cronus. Metis prepaired a drink for Cronus to make him vomit up the other children he had swallowed earlier.

In the meantime, Rhea persuaded Cronus to accept his son Zeus. Zeus, then, was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Cronus's cup-bearer. Zeus gave his father the specially prepaired drink. Cronus drank it and vomited the five children he had swallowed up. Being gods, the children were unharmed. They thanked Zeus and made him their leader.

When the war between Zeus and Cronus started, Cronus along with the Titans - except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus - fought to retain their power. Atlas was their leader in battle and it looked for some time as they would win and put the young gods down.

Zeus, meanwhile, went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. When he returned in the battlefield Prometheus was also with his allies. The Cyclopes provided Zeus with lighting bolts for weapons. The Hecatoncheires set ambush armed with boulders. Zeus retreated drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires's ambush. When Titan followed him to the place of ambush the Hecatoncheires rained down boulders on them with such a fury that Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. It made them break and run away. Zeus thus became victorious. Cronus was thus overthrown and Zeus became the ruler of Olympus and the Universe.

Zeus exiled the Titans, except Atlas, into Tartarus. Atlas was singled out for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders.