Kronos was the king of the Titans before Zeus, his son, defeated him. Before the days of the Olympians, Kronos heard a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him. Afraid to lose his power, Kronos eats each one of his children, although his wife, Rhea, manages to save one and raises the child in secret. That child is Zeus, who grows up to indeed overthrow Kronos. He is the first one to use the magic herbs pharmaka, which he shoves down Kronos’s throat to make him vomit up his siblings. Zeus and his siblings are the Olympians, and they launch a war for power against the Titans. The Olympians win and Kronos is chained for eternity. The war is the story’s oldest example of the relationship between power and fear. The pattern is the same throughout the story, which demonstrates how this violent cycle is passed down and maintained by the gods.
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Kronos Character Timeline in Circe
The timeline below shows where the character Kronos appears in Circe. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...Not only are the Titans older, but the Olympians are actually descended from the Titans; Kronos, the king of the Titans, was the father of the original Olympian gods. Long ago,...
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Once grown, Zeus poisoned Kronos and freed his siblings from Kronos’s stomach. Gathering them together, Zeus then led his siblings...
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Chapter 3
...he learns, such as the name for the powerful herbs that Zeus used to kill Kronos: pharmaka, a plant that grows when divine blood falls on earth. He likes philosophy and...
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