Cronia (redirected from Kronia)

Cronia (Kronia)

Midsummer

In Greek mythology, Cronus (or Kronos) was lord of the universe before the Olympian gods took power. He was the son of Uranus, whom he eventually castrated with a sickle given to him by his mother, Gaea. Once he succeeded his father as ruler of the universe, his reign was so peaceful it was known as the Golden Age. Because he had been warned that one of his children would eventually overthrow him, Cronus swallowed his sons as they were born. But the youngest son, Zeus, managed to escape this fate and was the victor in a 10-year war against his father and the other Titan gods.
The only important festival held in honor of Cronus in classical times was the Cronia, held at Athens, Rhodes, and Thebes in midsummer and resembling the Roman Saturnalia in terms of the unrestrained behavior that accompanied it. Some say that when Cronus was defeated by Zeus, he fled to the west and established another Golden Age in Rome, where he was known as Saturn.
Cronus is usually depicted holding a curved object, perhaps the sickle he used to castrate Uranus. After the defeat of Cronus, the universe was divided among his three sons: Zeus ruled the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea.

SOURCES:
DictFolkMyth-1984, p. 263
NewCentClassHandbk-1962, p. 340
(c)