Theogony

by

Hesiod

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Theogony makes teaching easy.

Rhea Character Analysis

Rhea is the mother of Zeus and the other Olympians. Her husband, Kronos, swallows all of her children prior to Zeus, fearing that they might one day usurp his power. With the help of Earth and Heaven, however, Rhea gives birth to Zeus in secret, while tricking Kronos into swallowing a rock instead of the infant god. Rhea later supports Zeus’ insurrection against Kronos, continuing the cycle of succession.

Rhea Quotes in Theogony

The Theogony quotes below are all either spoken by Rhea or refer to Rhea. 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:
Cycles of Succession Theme Icon
).
Theogony Quotes

Then she wrapped a large stone in babycloth and delivered it to the son of Heaven, the great lord, king of the Former Gods. Seizing it in his hands, he put it away in his belly, the brute, not realizing that thereafter not a stone but his son remained, secure and invincible, who before long was to defeat him by physical strength and drive him from his high station, himself to be king among the immortals.

Related Characters: Zeus, Kronos, Rhea
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Theogony LitChart as a printable PDF.
Theogony PDF

Rhea Quotes in Theogony

The Theogony quotes below are all either spoken by Rhea or refer to Rhea. 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:
Cycles of Succession Theme Icon
).
Theogony Quotes

Then she wrapped a large stone in babycloth and delivered it to the son of Heaven, the great lord, king of the Former Gods. Seizing it in his hands, he put it away in his belly, the brute, not realizing that thereafter not a stone but his son remained, secure and invincible, who before long was to defeat him by physical strength and drive him from his high station, himself to be king among the immortals.

Related Characters: Zeus, Kronos, Rhea
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis: