The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan

Kronos Character Analysis

Kronos is the Titan father of a number of gods and goddesses, most notably Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Kronos ate his children, but they all escaped. Then, Zeus cut Kronos into pieces and imprisoned him in Tartarus, a hellish pit in the Underworld. Though the gods generally seem to believe that Kronos is old news and not worth worrying about, Percy’s dreams—and his realization that Kronos is controlling both Ares and Luke through their dreams—suggest that Kronos is trying to rise and take over again.

Kronos Quotes in The Lightning Thief

The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by Kronos or refer to Kronos. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
).

Chapter 22 Quotes

“That’s not an easy quest,” I said. “Hercules did it.”

“Exactly,” Luke said. “Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done? [...] and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos.”

Related Characters: Luke (speaker), Percy Jackson (speaker), Kronos, Hermes
Page Number and Citation: 366
Explanation and Analysis:
When Luke tells Percy about his quest two years ago and admits that he’s a double agent working for Kronos, he lays out exactly how and why he turned to Kronos for support. Part of this has to do with how abandoned Luke feels by his father, the god Hermes. The quest was Hermes’s idea—it’s common for demigods’ parents to come up with their quests—and since it’s just a repeat of Hercules’s quest, Luke takes this as a signal that Hermes doesn’t care enough about him to give him a quest that would allow him to stand out and flourish. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto volu
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Kronos Character Timeline in The Lightning Thief

The timeline below shows where the character Kronos appears in The Lightning Thief. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...asks Percy to explain the pictures on the stele. Percy explains that it’s the Titan Kronos eating his kids, but someone hid baby Zeus and when Zeus grew up, he tricked... (full context)
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...Disappointed, Mr. Brunner finishes the story of what happened: Zeus and the other gods defeated Kronos, sliced him up, and threw him into Tartarus in the Underworld. Then, Mr. Brunner  sends... (full context)
Chapter 10
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...and what it was like. Chiron isn’t old enough to remember, but he says that Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age—but he didn’t care for... (full context)
Chapter 21
Family Theme Icon
...theater. Percy awkwardly asks what was in the pit and then answers his own question: Kronos. The name seems to darken the room. Poseidon explains that Zeus cut Kronos into a... (full context)
Chapter 22
Family Theme Icon
...a disease; they must burn it down and start over. Percy says that Luke serves Kronos: Kronos got Luke to steal the bolt and the helm, and he speaks to Luke... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
Percy asks why Luke didn’t take the items to Kronos. Luke says that he got overconfident and that Ares caught him, but Kronos helped Luke... (full context)
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...to go after Luke immediately, and he gripes that the gods won’t even talk about Kronos. Chiron insists that Percy isn’t ready. Percy asks if Chiron’s prophecy was about Kronos, Annabeth,... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Chiron explains that Kronos wants Percy to lose his mind and become bitter, but Percy must wait and train—and... (full context)