Crono

Crono o Kronos (in greco antico: Κρόνος, Krónos) è una divinità pre-olimpica della mitologia e della religione greca, nei miti più diffusi figlio di Urano (Cielo) e di Gea o Gaia (Terra), Titano della Fertilità, del Tempo e dell'Agricoltura, secondo signore del mondo e padre di Zeus e dei primi Olimpi. Non è da confondere con Chronos, divinità del tempo nell'orfismo. Nella religione romana Crono fu identificato con Saturno.

Crono nella Teogonia di Esiodo

Nella Teogonia di Esiodo, ai vv. 133-138, viene narrato che Gea (Γαῖα, "Terra"), unendosi a Urano (Οὐρανός ἀστερόεις, "Cielo stellante"), genera i Titani: Oceano (Ὠκεανός), Coio (Κοῖος, anche Ceo), Creio (Κριός, anche Crio), Iperione (Ύπέριον), Iapeto (Ιαπετός, anche Giapeto), Theia (Θεία, anche Teia o Tia), Rea (Ῥέα), Themis (Θέμις, anche Temi), Mnemosyne (Μνημοσύνη, anche Menmosine), Phoibe (Φοίϐη, anche Febe), Tethys (Τηθύς, anche Teti) e Kronos (Κρόνος, anche Crono).
Dopo i Titani (vv. 139-153), l'unione tra Gea e Urano genera i tre Ciclopi (Κύκλωπες: Brontes, Steropes e Arges); e i Centimani (Ἑκατόγχειρες, Ecatonchiri): Cotto, Briareo e Gige dalla forza terribile.
Urano (vv.154-182), tuttavia, impedisce che i figli da lui generati con Gea, i dodici Titani, i tre Ciclopi e i tre Centimani, vengano alla luce. La ragione di questo rifiuto risiederebbe secondo alcuni autori, nella loro "mostruosità". Ecco che la madre di costoro, Gea costruisce dapprima una falce dentata e poi invita i figli a disfarsi del padre che li costringe nel suo ventre. Solo l'ultimo dei Titani, Crono, risponde all'appello della madre: appena Urano si stende nuovamente su Gaia, Crono, nascosto lo evira usando un Harpe.
Da questo momento inizia il dominio di Crono il quale, unendosi a Rea, genera: Istie (Ἱστίη, ionico; anche Estia dall'attico Ἑστία), Demetra (Δήμητρα), Era (Ἥρα, anche Hera), Ade (Ἅιδης) ed Ennosigeo (Ἐννοσίγαιον, Scuotitore della terra, da intendere come Posidone o Poseidone Ποσειδῶν); ma tutti questi figli vengono divorati da Crono in quanto, avvertito dai genitori Gea e Urano che uno di questi lo avrebbe spodestato, non vuole cedere il potere regale. Grande sconforto questo stato di cose procura a Rea, la quale, incinta dell'ultimo figlio avuto da Crono, Zeus (Ζεύς), e consigliatasi con gli stessi genitori, decide di partorire di nascosto a Lycto (Creta), consegnando a Crono una pietra che questi divora pensando fosse il proprio ultimo figlio.
Zeus (vv.492-500) cresce in forza e intelligenza e infine sconfigge il padre Crono facendogli vomitare gli altri figli che aveva divorato, e il primo oggetto vomitato da Crono è proprio quella pietra che egli aveva inghiottito scambiandola per Zeus. Quindi Zeus (vv.501-506) scioglie dalle catene i tre Ciclopi così costretti dallo stesso Crono , i quali lo ricambieranno consegnandogli la Folgore (i fulmini).
I versi 617-720 della Teogonia si occupano della Titanomachia, la lotta tra i titani residenti sul monte Othrys e gli dèi dell'Olimpo (figli di Crono e di Rea): da dieci anni la lotta tra i due schieramenti prosegue incerta quando Zeus, su consiglio di Gea, libera i tre Centimani precedentemente costretti nella terra da Urano e, dopo averli rifocillati con nettare e ambrosia, li coinvolge nella battaglia che diverrà così decisiva e si concluderà con la sconfitta dei titani e la loro segregazione nel Tartaro, chiuso da mura e da porte di bronzo costruite appositamente da Posidone e guardati a vista dagli stessi tre Centimani.

Genealogia (Esiodo)

Urano

Gea

Genitali di Urano

CRONO

Rea

Zeus

Era

Poseidone

Ade

Demetra

Estia

Ares

Efesto

Meti

Atena

Latona

Apollo

Artemide

Maia

Ermes

Semele

Dioniso

Dione

Afrodite

Gli uomini al tempo di Crono

Sempre Esiodo, in Opere e giorni, narra di un'era d'oro per gli uomini quando signore del Cosmo era il titano Crono:

(GRC) « χρύσεον μὲν πρώτιστα γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
ἀθάνατοι ποίησαν Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχοντες.
οἳ μὲν ἐπὶ Κρόνου ἦσαν, ὅτ᾽ οὐρανῷ ἐμβασίλευεν:
ὥστε θεοὶ δ᾽ ἔζωον ἀκηδέα θυμὸν ἔχοντες
νόσφιν ἄτερ τε πόνων καὶ ὀιζύος: οὐδέ τι δειλὸν
γῆρας ἐπῆν, αἰεὶ δὲ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ὁμοῖοι
τέρποντ᾽ ἐν θαλίῃσι κακῶν ἔκτοσθεν ἁπάντων:
θνῇσκον δ᾽ ὥσθ᾽ ὕπνῳ δεδμημένοι: ἐσθλὰ δὲ πάντα
τοῖσιν ἔην: καρπὸν δ᾽ ἔφερε ζείδωρος ἄρουρα
αὐτομάτη πολλόν τε καὶ ἄφθονον: οἳ δ᾽ ἐθελημοὶ
ἥσυχοι ἔργ᾽ ἐνέμοντο σὺν ἐσθλοῖσιν πολέεσσιν.
ἀφνειοὶ μήλοισι, φίλοι μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν. »

(IT) « Prima una stirpe aurea di uomini mortali
fecero gli immortali che hanno le Olimpie dimore.
Erano ai tempi di Kronos, quand'egli regnava nel cielo;
come dèi vivevano, senza affanni nel cuore,
lungi e al riparo da pene e miseria, né triste
vecchiaia arrivava, ma sempre ugualmente forti di gambe e di braccia,
nei conviti gioivano, lontano da tutti i malanni;
morivano come vinti dal sonno, e ogni sorta di beni
c'era per loro; il suo frutto dava la fertile terra
senza lavoro, ricco ed abbondante, e loro, contenti,
in pace, si spartivano i frutti del loro lavoro in mezzo a beni infiniti,
ricchi d'armenti, cari agli dèi beati. »

(Esiodo, Le opere e i giorni, 109-120. Traduzione di Graziano Arrighetti, in Esiodo Opere : 1998 Einaudi-Gallimard; 2007 Mondadori, p.61)

Crono liberato dal Tartaro e signore dell'Isola dei beati

Sempre Esiodo, in Opere e giorni (vv. 170 e seguenti), afferma che Crono, liberato dal Tartaro dopo che Zeus perdona il padre, diventa re dell'Isola dei beati (μακάρων νῆσοι) dove sono destinati da Zeus gli Eroi, lì felici e liberi dagli affanni.

Crono nelle altre tradizioni mitologiche greche

Pindaro (Olimpiche II,55-83) ci dice che Crono regna sull'Isola dei beati dove dimorano non solo gli Eroi ma anche le anime dei giusti.
Diodoro Siculo ( Bibliotheca historica V, 64 e sgg.) riferisce che secondo i Cretesi, i Titani nacquero al tempo dei Cureti. Crono, dei Titani il più anziano, fu re, e grazie a lui gli uomini passarono dallo stato selvaggio alla civiltà. Insegnò agli uomini anche ad essere probi e semplici d'animo, questa è la ragione per cui si sostiene che gli uomini al tempo di Crono furono giusti e felici.
Plutarco (Il volto della luna XXVI, 940f-942a) narra del viaggio iniziatico del cartaginese Silla condotto verso l'estremo Occidente: a cinquemila stadi dall'isola di Ogigia, questa collocata a cinque giorni di navigazione dalle coste della Britannia, si situano le Isole dei beati dov'è Crono, imprigionato e addormentato da Zeus in una caverna color dell'oro assistito da dèmoni benefici che conoscono i suoi sogni, i quali corrispondono poi alle premeditazioni di Zeus, e li comunicano agli uomini desiderosi di sapere.
Nella teogonia dei miti orfici Crono non è il secondo signore degli dèi ma il quarto (dopo Phanes, Nyx e Urano), ed è discendente di Chronos.

Il culto

Il culto di Crono era ubicato prevalentemente ad Atene (dove vi si celebravano in estate le feste Cronie), in Beozia, a Rodi e a Cirene.
Nell'ambito della religione romana la sua figura corrisponde a quella di Saturno.

Pierre Mignard (1610-1695) - Time Clipping Cupid's Wings (1694)

Denver Art Museum

Saturno (divinità)

Saturnus è un'antica divinità venerata dai Romani, la cui origine è problematica. Già in antichità lo si riteneva non indigeno ma proveniente dalla Grecia il che ne denuncia quanto meno una precocissima ellenizzazione. Particolare significativo è che i sacrifici a lui dedicati erano eseguiti nel modo "greco" (Graeco ritu) ovvero a capo scoperto (capite aperto) e coronato.
Altra caratteristica di questa divinità consiste nel fatto che la sua immagine cultuale era rappresentata con i compedes (lacci) di lana ai piedi: da notare che la caratteristica dei compedes è propria degli schiavi. E questo spiega un'altra caratteristica che è invece legata alla festività del dio, i Saturnalia, celebrati a partire dal giorno 17 del mese di December (dicembre): questo giorno era un giorno di totale libertà per gli schiavi i quali potevano banchettare con i loro padroni, da cui venivano anche serviti.
Tali caratteristiche indicano in Saturnus una divinità, e quindi una festività, che promuove la trasgressione dell'ordine vigente allo scopo di generare una mancanza di regole, condizione grazie alla quale si può, con l'anno nuovo alle porte, rigenerare l'ordine appena perduto che procede sotto la dignitas di Iupiter.
In tal senso Mircea Eliade ricorda:

« Le feste avvengono in un tempo sacro, cioè nell'eternità, come fa notare Mauss. Ma vi sono feste periodiche -sicuramente le più importanti- che lasciano intravedere qualcosa di più: il desiderio di abolire il tempo profano già trascorso e di instaurare un "tempo nuovo". In altri termini, le feste periodiche che chiudono un ciclo temporaneo e ne aprono uno nuovo, intraprendono una rigenerazione del tempo. »

(Mircea Eliade, Trattato di storia delle religioni, p. 410-1)

Tra le caratteristiche di queste feste religiose Eliade ricorda:

« intermezzi carnascialeschi, saturnali, rovesciamento dell'ordine normale, "orgia". [...] La "confusione delle forme" è illustrata dallo sconvolgimento delle condizioni sociali (nei Saturnali lo schiavo è promosso padrone, il padrone serve gli schiavi; [...]) »

(Mircea Eliade, Trattato di storia delle religioni, p. 411, 412-3)

Dal che il dio Saturnus e le sue feste, i Saturnalia, rievocano l'era aurea (aurea aetas), priva di conflitti e di differenze sociali, quando regnava la prosperità e l'abbondanza e queste non erano frutto della fatica o della sofferenza. Il ricondurre il periodo posto alla fine dell'anno a quell'epoca aurea, consente alla tradizione religiosa romana di rigenerare il tempo sacro, di avviare l'anno nuovo che inizia per l'appunto con Ianuarius (gennaio), il mese del dio dell'inizio: Ianus.
Ma Saturnus non è solo il dio della rigenerazione, a lui non si fa riferimento solo per il periodo aureo dell'abbondanza, Saturnus è il dio che ha insegnato agli uomini la tecnica dell'agricoltura e con essa la civiltà, da qui una possibile lettura dell'accensione dei ceri durante i suoi riti, celebrati in occasione anche dell'apertura dei granai e della conseguente distribuzione del farro alla cittadinanza.

(LA) « hoc principe ab incomi et tenebrosa vita quasi ad lucem et bonarum artium scientia editi sumus »	(IT) « le candele stanno a significare che grazie a quel principe ci elevammo da una vita informe e oscura alla luce e alla conoscenza delle arti liberali. »
(Macrobio, Saturnalia, I, 7, 32; traduzione di Nino Marinone)

(LA) « tum rex Evandrus Romanae conditor arcis:
Haec nemora indigenae Fauni Nymphaeque tenebant
gensque virum truncis et duro robore nata,
quis neque mos neque cultus erat, nec iungere tauros
aut componere opes norant aut parcere parto,
sed rami atque asper victu venatus alebat.
primus ab aetherio venit Saturnus Olympo
arma Iovis fugiens et regnis exsul ademptis.
is genus indocile ac dispersum montibus altis
composuit legesque dedit, Latiumque vocari
maluit, his quoniam latuisset tutus in oris.
Aurea, quae perhibent, illo sub rege fuerunt
saecula: sic placida populos in pace regebat.
deterior donec paullatim ac decolor aetas,
et belli rabies, ac amor successit habendi. »

(IT) « Allora il re Evandro, fondatore della rocca romana:
"Abitavano questi luoghi Fauni indigeni e Ninfe;
forti creature nate da tronchi di duro rovere;
non avevano civiltà di costumi, né sapevano aggiogare
tori, o raccogliere provviste, o serbare il raccolto,
ma gli alberi e la dura caccia li sostentavano di nutrimento.
Primo venne Saturno dall'etereo Olimpo,
fuggendo le armi di Giove ed esule del regno usurpato.
Raccolse la stirpe indocile e dispersa per gli alti monti,
e diede leggi e volle che si chiamassero Lazio
le terre nella cui custodia era vissuto nascosto. Sotto quel re vi fu il secolo d'oro, che narrano; così reggeva i popoli in placida pace;
finché poco a poco seguì un'età peggiore, che mutava
in peggio il colore, e la furia della guerra e del desiderio di possesso.
»

(Virgilio, Eneide, VIII, 313-327; traduzione di Luca Canali)

Significativo è il fatto che uno degli appellativi di Saturnus fosse Stercutus (anche Stercutius, Sterculius, Sterces) ovvero la divinità del concime questo inteso anche come fertilità, ricchezza.

« Agricoltura, civiltà, benessere e leggi -o piuttosto il sottofondo e la condizione di tutto questo, come appare dalla concimazione e dalla sospensione temporanea delle leggi nei Saturnalia- ecco quanto il dio Saturnus e il re Saturnus rappresentano in modo perfettamente uguale. »

(Angelo Brelich, p.126)

Il nome di Saturnus è stato volentieri accostato, da antichi e moderni, per la sua etimologia alla semina ma questa etimologia è del tutto indimostrabile.
Saturnus, in qualità di rex è considerato anche il fondatore di una comunità situata sul Mons Saturnus prima che questi venisse indicato come Capitolium, così anche Roma come anche l'Italia, fu indicata con il nome di Saturnia.
Quindi come Ianus ha la sua sede sovrana sul Mons Ianiculus, Saturnus possiede il Mons Saturnus, ovvero il successivamente denominato Capitolium (Campidoglio), questo dopo essere giunto esule, via mare, scacciato dal suo regno, vivendo nascosto in quella regione che per questo motivo volle chiamare Latium (Lazio).
Il suo "esilio" ci porta al suo accostamento, e quindi alla sua identificazione, con il dio greco Kronos, identificazione operato dagli antichisti romani già nel I secolo a.C., per via, ad esempio, delle festività Saturnalia collegate alle Kronia di Atene, come ricorda il poeta romano Lucio Accio (II secolo a.C.) negli Annales riportato da Macrobio:

(LA) « Maxima pars Graium Saturno et maxime Athenae Conficiunt sacra, quae Cronia esse iterantur ab illis, Eumque diem celebrant: per agros urbesque fere omnes Exercent epulis laeti: famulosque procurant Quisque suos, nostrique itidem: et mos traditus illinc Iste, ut cum dominis famuli epulentur ibidem. »	(IT) « La maggior parte della Grecia, e soprattutto Atene, a Saturno celebra feste, che da loro sono denominate Cronie, e festeggiano quel giorno: per campi e per città quasi tutti banchettano in letizia e servono ciascuno i propri schiavi e tale costume passò di là ai nostri parimenti, sicché gli schiavi mangiano a tavola con i propri padroni. »
(Lucio Accio, citato da Macrobio, Saturnali, I, 7, 34)

Eppure, ricorda lo studioso italiano Dario Sabbatucci dietro a questa identificazione si cela una differenza fondamentale tra il latino Saturno e il greco Kronos:

« Il Saturno dei Romani non era ricordato per aver regnato nel mondo prima di Giove, ma per aver regnato sul Lazio (o sull'Italia) prima di Roma. Il punto di vista romano non conosce altro cosmo che Roma e il suo impero; non per niente a Roma il mito di nascita della città tiene il posto di un mito cosmogonico. Quando però l'identificazione di Saturno con Kronos era diventata operante, si dovette relativizzare il dio romano al punto di vista greco; si favoleggiò allora di un Saturno-Kronos cacciato da Giove-Zeus che si rifugia nel Lazio dove viene accolto da Giano. »

(Dario Sabbatucci, La religione di Roma antica, pp. 436-7)

Come alcune altre personalità divine ed eroiche delle fabulae romane, anche Saturnus scompare(non comparuit):

(LA) « Cum inter haec subito Saturnus non conparuisset, excogitavit Ianus honorum eius augmenta. Ac primum terram omnem ditioni suae parentem Saturniam nominavit: aram deinde cum sacris tamquam deo condidit, quae Saturnalia nominavit. Tot seculis Saturnalia praecedunt Romanae urbis aetatem. Observari igitur eum iussit maiestate religionis quasi vitae melioris auctorem: simulacrum eius indicio est, cui falcem, insigne messis, adiecit. »

(IT) « Nel frattempo Saturno scomparve improvvisamente, e Giano pensò di attribuirgli maggior onore: anzitutto chiamò Saturnia tutta la regione sottoposta al suo potere, poi, come ad un dio, gli consacrò un altare con riti sacri che chiamò Saturnali. Di tante generazioni i Saturnali precedono l'èra di Roma! E volle innalzarlo alla dignità del culto in quanto artefice di una vita migliore: ne fa fede la sua effigie, a cui diede come attributo la falce, simbolo della messe. »

(Macrobio, Saturnalia, I, 7, 24)

Saturnus. Copied by Hendrick Goltzius from an original fresco by Polydoro da Caravaggio.

In Greek mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos (/ˈkroʊnəs/ or /ˈkroʊnɒs/ from Greek: Κρόνος, Krónos), was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth. He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus. According to Plato, the deities Phorcys, Cronus, and Rhea were the eldest children of Oceanus and Tethys.
Cronus was usually depicted with a harpe, scythe or a sickle, which was the instrument he used to castrate and depose Uranus, his father. In Athens, on the twelfth day of the Attic month of Hekatombaion, a festival called Kronia was held in honour of Cronus to celebrate the harvest, suggesting that, as a result of his association with the virtuous Golden Age, Cronus continued to preside as a patron of the harvest. Cronus was also identified in classical antiquity with the Roman deity Saturn.

Mythology

In an ancient myth recorded by Hesiod's Theogony, Cronus envied the power of his father, the ruler of the universe, Uranus. Uranus drew the enmity of Cronus's mother, Gaia, when he hid the gigantic youngest children of Gaia, the hundred-handed Hecatonchires and one-eyed Cyclopes, in Tartarus, so that they would not see the light. Gaia created a great stone sickle and gathered together Cronus and his brothers to persuade them to castrate Uranus.
Only Cronus was willing to do the deed, so Gaia gave him the sickle and placed him in ambush. When Uranus met with Gaia, Cronus attacked him with the sickle, castrating him and casting his testicles into the sea. From the blood that spilled out from Uranus and fell upon the earth, the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae were produced. The testicles produced a white foam from which the goddess Aphrodite emerged. For this, Uranus threatened vengeance and called his sons Titenes (Τιτῆνες; according to Hesiod meaning "straining ones," the source of the word "titan", but this etymology is disputed) for overstepping their boundaries and daring to commit such an act (in an alternate version of this myth, a more benevolent Cronus overthrew the wicked serpentine Titan Ophion and in doing so he released the world from bondage and for a time ruled it justly).
After dispatching Uranus, Cronus re-imprisoned the Hecatonchires, and the Cyclopes and set the dragon Campe to guard them. He and his sister Rhea took the throne of the world as king and queen. The period in which Cronus ruled was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing, and immorality was absent.
Cronus learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overcome by his own sons, just as he had overthrown his father. As a result, although he sired the gods Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades and Poseidon by Rhea, he devoured them all as soon as they were born to prevent the prophecy. When the sixth child, Zeus, was born Rhea sought Gaia to devise a plan to save them and to eventually get retribution on Cronus for his acts against his father and children.
Rhea secretly gave birth to Zeus in Crete, and handed Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, also known as the Omphalos Stone, which he promptly swallowed, thinking that it was his son.
Rhea kept Zeus hidden in a cave on Mount Ida, Crete. According to some versions of the story, he was then raised by a goat named Amalthea, while a company of Kouretes, armored male dancers, shouted and clapped their hands to make enough noise to mask the baby's cries from Cronus. Other versions of the myth have Zeus raised by the nymph Adamanthea, who hid Zeus by dangling him by a rope from a tree so that he was suspended between the earth, the sea, and the sky, all of which were ruled by his father, Cronus. Still other versions of the tale say that Zeus was raised by his grandmother, Gaia.
Once he had grown up, Zeus used an emetic given to him by Gaia to force Cronus to disgorge the contents of his stomach in reverse order: first the stone, which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Mount Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, and then his two brothers and three sisters. In other versions of the tale, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the children, or Zeus cut Cronus's stomach open.^{[citation needed]}
After freeing his siblings, Zeus released the Hecatoncheires, and the Cyclopes who forged for him his thunderbolts, Poseidon's trident and Hades' helmet of darkness. In a vast war called the Titanomachy, Zeus and his brothers and sisters, with the help of the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes, overthrew Cronus and the other Titans. Afterwards, many of the Titans were confined in Tartarus. However, Oceanus, Helios, Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius were not imprisoned following the Titanomachy. Gaia bore the monster Typhon to claim revenge for the imprisoned Titans.
Accounts of the fate of Cronus after the Titanomachy differ. In Homeric and other texts he is imprisoned with the other Titans in Tartarus. In Orphic poems, he is imprisoned for eternity in the cave of Nyx. Pindar describes his release from Tartarus, where he is made King of Elysium by Zeus. In another version,^{[citation needed]} the Titans released the Cyclopes from Tartarus, and Cronus was awarded the kingship among them, beginning a Golden Age. In Virgil's Aeneid,^{[citation needed]} it is Latium to which Saturn (Cronus) escapes and ascends as king and lawgiver, following his defeat by his son Jupiter (Zeus).
One other account referred by Robert Graves, who claims to be following the account of the Byzantine mythographer Tzetzes, it is said that Cronus was castrated by his son Zeus just like he had done with his father Uranus before. However the subject of a son castrating his own father, or simply castration in general, was so repudiated by the Greek mythographers of that time that they suppressed it from their accounts until the Christian era (when Tzetzes wrote).

Libyan account by Diodorus Siculus

In a Libyan account related by Diodorus Siculus (Book 3), Uranus and Titaea were the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans. Ammon, a king of Libya, married Rhea (3.18.1). However, Rhea abandoned Ammon and married her brother Cronus. With Rhea's incitement, Cronus and the other Titans made war upon Ammon, who fled to Crete (3.71.1-2). Cronus ruled harshly and Cronus in turn was defeated by Ammon's son Dionysus (3.71.3-3.73) who appointed Cronus' and Rhea's son, Zeus, as king of Egypt (3.73.4). Dionysus and Zeus then joined their forces to defeat the remaining Titans in Crete, and on the death of Dionysus, Zeus inherited all the kingdoms, becoming lord of the world (3.73.7-8).

Sibylline Oracles

Cronus is mentioned in the Sibylline Oracles, particularly in book three, which makes Cronus, 'Titan' and Iapetus, the three sons of Uranus and Gaia, each to receive a third division of the Earth, and Cronus is made king over all. After the death of Uranus, Titan's sons attempt to destroy Cronus's and Rhea's male offspring as soon as they are born, but at Dodona, Rhea secretly bears her sons Zeus, Poseidon and Hades and sends them to Phrygia to be raised in the care of three Cretans. Upon learning this, sixty of Titan's men then imprison Cronus and Rhea, causing the sons of Cronus to declare and fight the first of all wars against them. This account mentions nothing about Cronus either killing his father or attempting to kill any of his children.

Name and comparative mythology

Antiquity

During antiquity, Cronus was occasionally interpreted as Chronos, the personification of time. The Roman philosopher Cicero (1st century BCE) elaborated on this by saying that the Greek name Cronus is synonymous to chronos (time) since he maintains the course and cycles of seasons and the periods of time, whereas the Latin name Saturn denotes that he is saturated with years since he was devouring his sons, which implies that time devours the ages and gorges. The Greek historian and biographer Plutarch (1st century CE) asserted that the Greeks believed that Cronus was an allegorical name for χρόνος (time). The philosopher Plato (3rd century BCE) in his Cratylus gives two possible interpretations for the name of Cronus. The first is that his name denotes "κόρος" (koros), the pure (καθαρόν) and unblemished (ἀκήρατον) nature of his mind. The second is that Rhea and Cronus were given names of streams (Rhea – ῥοή (rhoē) and Cronus – Xρόνος (chronos)). Proclus (5th century CE), the Neoplatonist philosopher, makes in his Commentary on Plato's Cratylus an extensive analysis on Cronus; among others he says that the "One cause" of all things is "Chronos" (time) that is also equivocal to Cronus. In addition to the name, the story of Cronus eating his children was also interpreted as an allegory to a specific aspect of time held within Cronus' sphere of influence. As the theory went, Cronus represented the destructive ravages of time which devoured all things, a concept that was illustrated when the Titan king ate the Olympian gods — the past consuming the future, the older generation suppressing the next generation.

From the Renaissance to the present

During the Renaissance, the identification of Cronus and Chronos gave rise to "Father Time" wielding the harvesting scythe. H. J. Rose in 1928 observed that attempts to give "Κρόνος" a Greek etymology had failed. Recently, Janda (2010) offers a genuinely Indo-European etymology of "the cutter", from the root *(s)ker- "to cut" (Greek κείρω (keirō), cf. English shear), motivated by Cronus's characteristic act of "cutting the sky" (or the genitals of anthropomorphic Uranus). The Indo-Iranian reflex of the root is kar, generally meaning "to make, create" (whence karma), but Janda argues that the original meaning "to cut" in a cosmogonic sense is still preserved in some verses of the Rigveda pertaining to Indra's heroic "cutting", like that of Cronus resulting in creation:

RV 10.104.10 ārdayad vṛtram akṛṇod ulokaṃ he hit Vrtra fatally, cutting [> creating] a free path.
RV 6.47.4 varṣmāṇaṃ divo akṛṇod he cut [> created] the loftiness of the sky.

This may point to an older Indo-European mytheme reconstructed as *(s)kert wersmn diwos "by means of a cut he created the loftiness of the sky". The myth of Cronus castrating Uranus parallels the Song of Kumarbi, where Anu (the heavens) is castrated by Kumarbi. In the Song of Ullikummi, Teshub uses the "sickle with which heaven and earth had once been separated" to defeat the monster Ullikummi, establishing that the "castration" of the heavens by means of a sickle was part of a creation myth, in origin a cut creating an opening or gap between heaven (imagined as a dome of stone) and earth enabling the beginning of time (chronos) and human history. A theory debated in the 19th century, and sometimes still offered somewhat apologetically, holds that Κρόνος is related to "horned", assuming a Semitic derivation from qrn. Andrew Lang's objection, that Cronus was never represented horned in Hellenic art, was addressed by Robert Brown, arguing that, in Semitic usage, as in the Hebrew Bible, qeren was a signifier of "power". When Greek writers encountered the Semitic deity El, they rendered his name as Cronus.
Robert Graves remarks that "cronos probably means 'crow', like the Latin cornix and the Greek corōne", noting that Cronus was depicted with a crow, as were the deities Apollo, Asclepius, Saturn and Bran.

El, the Phoenician Cronus

When Hellenes encountered Phoenicians and, later, Hebrews, they identified the Semitic El, by interpretatio graeca, with Cronus. The association was recorded c. AD 100 by Philo of Byblos' Phoenician history, as reported in Eusebius' Præparatio Evangelica I.10.16. Philo's account, ascribed by Eusebius to the semi-legendary pre-Trojan War Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon, indicates that Cronus was originally a Canaanite ruler who founded Byblos and was subsequently deified. This version gives his alternate name as Elus or Ilus, and states that in the 32nd year of his reign, he emasculated, slew and deified his father Epigeius or Autochthon "whom they afterwards called Uranus". It further states that after ships were invented, Cronus, visiting the 'inhabitable world', bequeathed Attica to his own daughter Athena, and Egypt to Taautus the son of Misor and inventor of writing.

Roman mythology and later culture

While the Greeks considered Cronus a cruel and tempestuous force of chaos and disorder, believing the Olympian gods had brought an era of peace and order by seizing power from the crude and malicious Titans^{[citation needed]}, the Romans took a more positive and innocuous view of the deity, by conflating their indigenous deity Saturn with Cronus. Consequently, while the Greeks considered Cronus merely an intermediary stage between Uranus and Zeus, he was a larger aspect of Roman religion. The Saturnalia was a festival dedicated in his honour, and at least one temple to Saturn already existed in the archaic Roman Kingdom.
His association with the "Saturnian" Golden Age eventually caused him to become the god of "time", i.e., calendars, seasons, and harvests—not now confused with Chronos, the unrelated embodiment of time in general. Nevertheless, among Hellenistic scholars in Alexandria and during the Renaissance, Cronus was conflated with the name of Chronos, the personification of "Father Time", wielding the harvesting scythe.
As a result of Cronus's importance to the Romans, his Roman variant, Saturn, has had a large influence on Western culture. The seventh day of the Judaeo-Christian week is called in Latin Dies Saturni ("Day of Saturn"), which in turn was adapted and became the source of the English word Saturday. In astronomy, the planet Saturn is named after the Roman deity. It is the outermost of the Classical planets (those that are visible with the naked eye).

Astronomy

A star (HD 240430) was named after him in 2017 when it was reported to have swallowed its planets.

Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle

Unknown - Dr. Vollmers Wörterbuch der Mythologie aller Völker, third edition Stuttgart 1874, S. 406-407

Saturn (Latin: Saturnus pronounced [saˈtʊr.nʊs]) is a god in ancient Roman religion, and a character in myth as a god of generation, dissolution, plenty, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. In later developments, he also came to be a god of time. His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of plenty and peace. The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum housed the state treasury. In December, he was celebrated at what is perhaps the most famous of the Roman festivals, the Saturnalia, a time of feasting, role reversals, free speech, gift-giving and revelry. Saturn the planet and Saturday are both named after the god.

Mythology

The Roman land preserved the remembrance of a very remote time during which Saturn and Janus reigned on the site of the city before its foundation: the Capitol was called ‘'mons Saturnius. The Romans identified Saturn with the Greek Cronus, whose myths were adapted for Latin literature and Roman art. In particular, Cronus's role in the genealogy of the Greek gods was transferred to Saturn. As early as Livius Andronicus (3rd century BC), Jupiter was called the son of Saturn.
Saturn had two mistresses who represented different aspects of the god. The name of his wife Ops, the Roman equivalent of Greek Rhea, means "wealth, abundance, resources." The association with Ops is considered a later development, however, as this goddess was originally paired with Consus. Earlier was Saturn's association with Lua ("destruction, dissolution, loosening"), a goddess who received the bloodied weapons of enemies destroyed in war.
Under Saturn's rule, humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in the "Golden Age" described by Hesiod and Ovid.

Etymology and epithets

By Saturn they seek to represent that power which maintains the cyclic course of times and seasons. This is the sense that the Greek name of that god bears, for he is called Kronos, which is the same as Chronos or Time. Saturn for his part got his name because he was "sated" with years; the story that he regularly devoured his own children is explained by the fact that time devours the courses of the seasons, and gorges itself "insatiably" on the years that are past. Saturn was enchained by Jupiter to ensure that his circuits did not get out of control, and to constrain him with the bonds of the stars.
—

Quintus Lucilius Balbus as recorded by Marcus Tullius Cicero and translated by P.G. Walsh, De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods), Book II, Part ii, Section c

According to Varro, Saturn's name was derived from satu, meaning "sowing". Even though this etymology looks implausible on linguistic grounds (for the long quantity of the a in Sāturnus and also because of the epigraphically attested form Saeturnus) nevertheless it does reflect an original feature of the god. A more probable etymology connects the name with Etruscan god Satre and placenames such as Satria, an ancient town of Latium, and Saturae palus, a marsh also in Latium. This root may be related to Latin phytonym satureia.
Another epithet, variably Sterculius, Stercutus, and Sterces, referred to his agricultural functions; this derives from stercus, "dung" or "manure", referring to re-emergence from death to life. Agriculture was important to Roman identity, and Saturn was a part of archaic Roman religion and ethnic identity. His name appears in the ancient hymn of the Salian priests, and his temple was the oldest known to have been recorded by the pontiffs.
Quintus Lucilius Balbus gives a separate etymology in Cicero's De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods). In this interpretation, the agricultural aspect of Saturn would be secondary to his primary relation with time and seasons. Since Time consumes all things, Balbus asserts that the name Saturn comes from the Latin word satis; Saturn being an anthropomorphic representation of Time, which is filled, or satiated, by all things or all generations. Since agriculture is so closely linked to seasons and therefore an understanding of the cyclical passage of time, it follows that agriculture would then be associated with the deity Saturn.

Temple

The temple of Saturn was located at the base of the Capitoline Hill, according to a tradition recorded by Varro formerly known as Saturnius Mons, and a row of columns from the last rebuilding of the temple still stands. The temple was consecrated in 497 BC but the area Saturni was built by king Tullus Hostilius as confirmed by archaeological studies conducted by E. Gjerstad. It housed the state treasury (aerarium) throughout Roman history.

Festival's time

The position of Saturn's festival in the Roman calendar led to his association with concepts of time, especially the temporal transition of the New Year. In the Greek tradition, Cronus was sometimes conflated with Chronus, "Time," and his devouring of his children taken as an allegory for the passing of generations. The sickle or scythe of Father Time is a remnant of the agricultural implement of Cronus-Saturn, and his aged appearance represents the waning of the old year with the birth of the new, in antiquity sometimes embodied by Aion. In late antiquity, Saturn is syncretized with a number of deities, and begins to be depicted as winged, as is Kairos, "Timing, Right Time".

In Roman religion

Theology and worship

The figure of Saturn is one of the most complex in Roman religion. G. Dumézil refrained from discussing Saturn in his work on Roman religion on the grounds of insufficient knowledge. On the contrary, his follower Dominique Briquel has attempted a thorough interpretation of Saturn utilising Dumézil's three-functional theory of Indoeuropean religion, taking the ancient testimonies and the works of A. Brelich and G. Piccaluga as his basis.
The main difficulty scholars find in studying Saturn is in assessing what is original of his figure and what is due to later hellenising influences. Moreover, some features of the god may be common to Cronus but are nonetheless very ancient and can be considered proper to the Roman god, whereas others are certainly later and arrived after 217 BC, the year in which the Greek customs of the Kronia were introduced into the Saturnalia.
Among the features which are definitely authentic of the Roman god, Briquel identifies:

the time of his festival in the calendar, which corresponds to the date of the consecration of his temple (the Greek Cronia on the other hand took place in June–July);
his association with Lua Mater, and
the location of his cult on the Capitol, which goes back to remote times.

These three elements in Briquel's view indicate that Saturn is a sovereign god. The god's strict relationship with the cults of the Capitoline Hill and in particular with Jupiter are highlighted by the legends concerning the refusal of gods Iuventas and Terminus to leave their abode in the shrines on the Capitol when the temple of Jupiter was to be built. These two deities correspond to the helper gods of the sovereign in Vedic religion (Briquel refers to Dhritarashtra and Vidura, the figures of the Mahabharata) and to the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires in Hesiod. Whereas the helper gods belong to the second divine generation they become active only at the level of the third in each of the three instances of India, Greece and Rome, where they become a sort of continuation of Jupiter.)
Dumézil postulated a split of the figure of the sovereign god in Indoeuropean religion, which is embodied by Vedic gods Varuna and Mitra. Of the two, the first one shows the aspect of the magic, uncanny, awe inspiring power of creation and destruction, while the second shows the reassuring aspect of guarantor of the legal order in organised social life. Whereas in Jupiter these double features have coalesced, Briquel sees Saturn as showing the characters of a sovereign god of the Varunian type. His nature becomes evident in his mastership over the annual time of crisis around the winter solstice, epitomised in the power of subverting normal codified social order and its rules, which is apparent in the festival of the Saturnalia, in the mastership of annual fertility and renewal, in the power of annihilation present in his paredra Lua, in the fact that he is the god of a timeless era of plenty and bounty before time, which he reinstates at the time of the yearly crisis of the winter solstice. Also, in Roman and Etruscan reckoning Saturn is a wielder of lightning; no other agricultural god (in the sense of specialized human activity) is one. Hence the mastership he has on agriculture and wealth cannot be that of a god of the third function, i.e. of production, wealth, and pleasure, but it stems from his magical lordship over creation and destruction. Although these features are to be found in Greek god Cronus as well, it appears that those features were proper to Roman Saturn’s most ancient aspects, such as his presence on the Capitol and his association with Jupiter, who in the stories of the arrival of the Pelasgians in the land of the Sicels and that of the Argei orders human sacrifices to him.
Sacrifices to Saturn were performed according to "Greek rite" (ritus graecus), with the head uncovered, in contrast to those of other major Roman deities, which were performed capite velato, "with the head covered." Saturn himself, however, was represented as veiled (involutus), as for example in a wall painting from Pompeii that shows him holding a sickle and covered with a white veil. This feature is in complete accord with the character of a sovereign god of the Varunian type and is common with German god Odin. Briquel remarks Servius had already seen that the choice of the Greek rite was due to the fact that the god himself is imagined and represented as veiled, thence his sacrifice cannot be carried out by a veiled man: this is an instance of the reversal of the current order of things typical of the nature of the deity as appears in its festival^. Plutarch writes his figure is veiled because he is the father of truth.
Pliny notes that the cult statue of Saturn was filled with oil; the exact meaning of this is unclear. Its feet were bound with wool, which was removed only during the Saturnalia. The fact that the statue was filled with oil and the feet were bound with wool may relate back to the myth of "The Castration of Uranus". In this myth Rhea gives Cronus a rock to eat in Zeus' stead, thus tricking Cronus. Although mastership of knots is a feature of Greek origin it is also typical of the Varunian sovereign figure, as apparent e.g. in Odin. Once Zeus was victorious over Cronus, he sets this stone up at Delphi and constantly it is anointed with oil and strands of unwoven wool are placed on it. It wore a red cloak, and was brought out of the temple to take part in ritual processions and lectisternia, banquets at which images of the gods were arranged as guests on couches. All these ceremonial details identify a sovereign figure. Briquel concludes that Saturn was a sovereign god of a time that the Romans perceived as no longer actual, that of the legendary origins of the world, before civilization.
Little evidence exists in Italy for the cult of Saturn outside Rome, but his name resembles that of the Etruscan god Satres. The potential cruelty of Saturn was enhanced by his identification with Cronus, known for devouring his own children. He was thus used in translation when referring to gods from other cultures the Romans perceived as severe; he was equated with the Carthaginian god Ba'al Hammon, to whom children were sacrificed, and to Yahweh, whose Sabbath was referred to as Saturni dies, "Saturn's day," in a poem by Tibullus, who wrote during the reign of Augustus; eventually this gave rise to the word "Saturday" in English. The identification with Ba'al Hammon later gave rise to the African Saturn, a cult that enjoyed great popularity until the 4th century. It had a popular but also a mysteric character and required child sacrifices. It is also considered as inclining to monotheism. In the ceremony of initiation the myste intrat sub iugum, ritual that Leglay compares to the Roman tigillum sororium. Even though their origin and theology are completely different the Italic and the African god are both sovereign and master over time and death, fact that has permitted their encounter. Moreover, here Saturn is not the real Italic god but his Greek counterpart Cronus.

Saturnalia

Saturn is associated with a major religious festival in the Roman calendar, Saturnalia. Saturnalia celebrated the harvest and sowing, and ran from December 17–23. During Saturnalia, the social restrictions of Rome were relaxed. The figure of Saturn, kept during the year with its legs bound in wool, was released from its bindings for the period of the festival. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost "Golden Age" before the rule of Saturn was overthrown, not all of them desirable except as a temporary release from civilized constraint. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia.
Macrobius (5th century AD) presents an interpretation of the Saturnalia as a festival of light leading to the winter solstice. The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis of Sol Invictus, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun," on December 25.

Roman legend

It was customary for the Romans to represent divine figures as kings of Latium at the time of their legendary origins.
Macrobius states explicitly that the Roman legend of Janus and Saturn is an affabulation, as the true meaning of religious beliefs cannot be openly expressed. In the myth Saturn was the original and autochthonous ruler of the Capitolium, which had thus been called the Mons Saturnius in older times and on which once stood the town of Saturnia. He was sometimes regarded as the first king of Latium or even the whole of Italy. At the same time, there was a tradition that Saturn had been an immigrant god, received by Janus after he was usurped by his son Jupiter and expelled from Greece. In Versnel's view his contradictions—a foreigner with one of Rome's oldest sanctuaries, and a god of liberation who is kept in fetters most of the year—indicate Saturn's capacity for obliterating social distinctions.
The Golden Age of Saturn's reign in Roman mythology differed from the Greek tradition. He arrived in Italy "dethroned and fugitive," but brought agriculture and civilization for which he was rewarded by Janus with a share of the kingdom, becoming himself king. As the Augustan poet Virgil described it, "He gathered together the unruly race" of fauns and nymphs "scattered over mountain heights, and gave them laws ... . Under his reign were the golden ages men tell of: in such perfect peace he ruled the nations." He was considered the ancestor of the Latin nation as he fathered Picus, the first king of Latium, who married Janus' daughter Canens and in his turn fathered Faunus. Saturn was also said to have founded the five Saturnian towns of Latium: Aletrium (today Alatri), Anagnia (Anagni), Arpinum (Arpino), Atina and Ferentinum (Ferentino, also known as Antinum) all located in the Latin Valley, province of Frosinone. All these towns are surrounded by cyclopical walls; their foundation is traditionally ascribed to the Pelasgians.
But Saturn also had a less benevolent aspect, as indicated by the blood shed in his honor during gladiatorial munera. His consort in archaic Roman tradition was Lua, sometimes called Lua Saturni ("Saturn's Lua") and identified with Lua Mater, "Mother Destruction," a goddess in whose honor the weapons of enemies killed in war were burned, perhaps as expiation. H.S. Versnel, however, proposed that Lua Saturni should not be identified with Lua Mater, but rather refers to "loosening"; she thus represents the liberating function of Saturn.

Gladiatorial munera

Saturn's chthonic nature connected him to the underworld and its ruler Dis Pater, the Roman equivalent of Greek Plouton (Pluto in Latin) who was also a god of hidden wealth. In 3rd-century AD sources and later, Saturn is recorded as receiving gladiatorial offerings (munera) during or near the Saturnalia. These gladiator combats, ten days in all throughout December, were presented by the quaestors and sponsored with funds from the treasury of Saturn.
The practice of gladiatorial munera was criticized by Christian apologists as a form of human sacrifice. Although there is no evidence of this practice during the Republican era, the offering of gladiators led to later theorizing that the primeval Saturn had demanded human victims. Macrobius says that Dis Pater was placated with human heads and Saturn with sacrificial victims consisting of men (virorum victimis). The figurines that were exchanged as gifts (sigillaria) during the Saturnalia may have represented token substitutes.

On coins

In 104 BC, the plebeian tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus issued a denarius depicting Saturn driving a four-horse chariot (quadriga), a vehicle associated with rulers, triumphing generals, and sun gods. Saturninus was a popularist politician who had proposed reduced-price grain distribution to the poor of Rome. The head of the goddess Roma appears on the obverse. The Saturnian imagery played on the tribune's name and his intent to alter the social hierarchy to his advantage by basing his political support on the common people (plebs) rather than the senatorial elite.

Ruins of the Temple of Saturn (eight columns to the far right) in February 2010, with three columns from the Temple of Vespasian and Titus (left) and the Arch of Septimius Severus (center)

Robert Lowe

Giorgio Vasari: The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus)

16th century

Relief held by the Louvre thought to depict the veiled throne of Saturn, either a Roman work of the 1st century AD or a Renaissance copy

Marie-Lan Nguyen (User:Jastrow), 2009

Relief, so-called "Throne of Saturn". Marble, 1st century AD or 16th copy. From Venice, Italy.

Painting by Peter Paul Rubens of Cronus devouring one of his children

between 1636 and 1638

Saturn, Jupiter's father, devours one of his sons.

Alatri's main gate of the cyclopical walls

The Fall of the Titans, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, 1596-1598

Saturn driving a quadriga on the reverse of a denarius issued by Saturninus

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc

Chronos and his child by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, National Museum in Warsaw, a 17th-century depiction of Titan Cronus as "Father Time," wielding a harvesting scythe

Saturnalia by Antoine Callet 1783

Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet

Rea offre la pietra a Crono, particolare di un vaso in ceramica a figure rosse attribuito al Pittore di Nausicaa, ca. 460–450 a.C.; conservato al Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (GRC) « τῷ δὲ σπαργανίσασα μέγαν λίθον ἐγγυάλιξεν/Οὐρανίδῃ μέγ᾽ ἄνακτι, θεῶν προτέρῳ βασιλῆι » (IT) « A quello poi, avvolta di fasce, una grande pietra essa dette,/ al figlio d'Urano grande signore, degli dèi primo re » (Esiodo, Teogonia, 485-6; traduzione di Graziano Arrighetti)

Pietro Della Vecchia, Crono divora i suoi figli

Creato tra il 1626 e il 1678

Ancient Greek painting signed by "Alexander of Athens", discovered in Herculaneum, showing five women playing knucklebones, a game which was played during the Attic holiday of Kronia…Olivierw - Own work

Citazioni su Crono

In quanto solida misura, il tempo deriva dal movimento del cielo. In esso inizia il tempo, da esso scaturì, a quanto sembra, Crono, che è Chronos (tempo). Questo Crono-Chronos è il creatore del tempo. (Ambrogio Teodosio Macrobio)
Prima una stirpe aurea di uomini mortali | fecero gli immortali che hanno le Olimpie dimore. | Erano ai tempi di Kronos, quand'egli regnava nel cielo; | come dèi vivevano, senza affanni nel cuore, | lungi e al riparo da pene e miseria, né triste | vecchiaia arrivava, ma sempre ugualmente forti di gambe e di braccia, | nei conviti gioivano, lontano da tutti i malanni; | morivano come vinti dal sonno, e ogni sorta di beni | c'era per loro; il suo frutto dava la fertile terra | senza lavoro, ricco ed abbondante, e loro, contenti, | in pace, si spartivano i frutti del loro lavoro in mezzo a beni infiniti, | ricchi d'armenti, cari agli dèi beati. (Esiodo)