Rhea or Rheia (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Ῥέα or Ῥεία ) is a

mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and Greek mythology, mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and Cult (religious practice), cult practices. The application of the modern concept ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, the

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

daughter of the

earth goddess Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

and the

sky god The sky often has important religious significance. Many polytheism, polytheistic religions have deity, deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's ''Motif-Index o ...

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...

, himself a son of Gaia. She is the older sister of

Cronus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...

, who was also her consort, and the mother of the five eldest

Olympian gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...

(

Hestia In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; ) is the virgin goddess of the hearth and the home. In myth, she is the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and one of the Twelve Olympians. In Greek mythology, newborn Hestia, alo ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

, and

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

) and

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

, king of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

. When Cronus learnt that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his children like his father before him, he swallowed all the children Rhea bore as soon as they were born. When Rhea had her sixth and final child, Zeus, she spirited him away and hid him in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, giving Cronus a rock to swallow instead, thus saving her youngest son who would go on to challenge his father's rule and rescue the rest of his siblings. Following Zeus's defeat of Cronus and the rise of the Olympian gods into power, Rhea withdraws from her role as the queen of the gods to become a supporting figure on Mount Olympus. She has some roles in the new Olympian era. She attended the birth of her grandson

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and raised her other grandson

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

. After

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

was abducted by Hades, Rhea was sent to Demeter by Zeus. In the myth of

Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the ...

, she resurrects the unfortunate youth after he has been slain. In early traditions, she is known as "the mother of gods" and therefore is strongly associated with Gaia and

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

, who have similar functions. The classical Greeks saw her as the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses. The Romans identified her with

Magna Mater Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

(their form of Cybele), and the Goddess

Ops OPS may refer to: Organizations * Obscene Publications Squad, a former unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England * Oceanic Preservation Society * Office of Public Safety, a former US government agency * Orchestre philharmonique de Strasb ...

Etymology

Some ancient etymologists derived ' () (by metathesis) from (, 'ground', 'earth'); the same is suggested also by Ioannes Stamatakos. Other roots have been suggested by modern scholarship but

Hjalmar Frisk Hjalmar Frisk (4 August 1900, in Gothenburg – 1 August 1984, in Gothenburg) was a Swedish linguist and etymologist in Indo-European studies. He was also rector of the University of Gothenburg from 1951 to 1966.

considers a convincing etymology to be lacking. A different tradition, embodied in

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

and in

Chrysippus Chrysippus of Soli (; , ; ) was a Ancient Greece, Greek Stoicism, Stoic Philosophy, philosopher. He was a native of Soli, Cilicia, but moved to Athens as a young man, where he became a pupil of the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes. When Cleanthes ...

, connected the word with (', 'flow, discharge'), Alternatively, the name ''Rhea'' may be connected with words for the

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

: (), and later (). The name ''Rhea'' may ultimately derive from a

Pre-Greek The pre-Greek substrate (or substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Greek language or languages (either Pre-Indo-European or other Indo-European languages) spoken in prehistoric Greece prior to the emergence of the Proto-Greek language in the r ...

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

source.

Family

Rhea is the sister of the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

(

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

Crius In Greek mythology, Crius, Kreios, or Krios (; or ) was one of the Titans, children of Uranus and Gaia. Etymology Although "krios" was also the ancient Greek word for "ram", the Titan's chthonic position in the underworld means no classical ...

, Hyperion,

Iapetus In Greek mythology, Iapetus (; ; ), also Japetus, is a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. He was also called the father of Buphagus and Anchiale in other sources. Iapetus was linked ...

Coeus In Greek mythology, Coeus (; , "query, questioning" or "intelligence"), also called Polus, was one of the Titans, one of the three groups of children born to Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). Mythology Coeus was an obscure figure, and like most ...

Themis In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; ) is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, law, and custom. She is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is associated with oracles a ...

Theia Theia (; , also rendered Thea or Thia), also called Euryphaessa (, "wide-shining"), is one of the twelve Titans, the children of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus in Greek mythology. She is the Greek goddess of sight and vision, an ...

, Phoebe, Tethys,

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; , ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine children of the earth-godde ...

, and sometimes Dione), the

Cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''The ...

, the

Hecatoncheires In Greek mythology, the Hecatoncheires (), also called Hundred-Handers or Centimanes (; ), were three monstrous giants, of enormous size and strength, each with fifty heads and one hundred arms. They were individually named Cottus (the furious), ...

, the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

, the

Meliae In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (; or ) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared. Mythology According to Hesiod, the Meliae (probably meaning all tree-nymphs) were born from the dr ...

, and the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth tak ...

; and the half-sister of

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

(in some versions),

Typhon Typhon (; , ), also Typhoeus (; ), Typhaon () or Typhos (), was a monstrous serpentine giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus. However, one source has Typhon as t ...

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

Thaumas In Greek mythology, Thaumas or Thaumant (; ; ) was a sea god, son of Pontus and Gaia, and the full brother of Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. Mythology According to Hesiod, Thaumas's wife was Electra (one of the Oceanids, the many daughter ...

Phorcys In Greek mythology, Phorcys or Phorcus (; ) is a primordial sea god, generally cited (first in Hesiod) as the son of Pontus and Gaia (Earth). Classical scholar Karl Kerenyi conflated Phorcys with the similar sea gods Nereus and Proteus. His w ...

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...

, Eurybia, and

Ceto Ceto (; ) is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host of monstrous children fathered by Pho ...

. According to

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

, Rhea had six children with

, and

. The philosopher

recounts that Rhea, Cronus, and

were the eldest children of

and Tethys. According to the Orphic myths, Zeus wanted to marry his mother Rhea. After Rhea refused to marry him, Zeus turned into a snake and raped her. She had

with Zeus.

Mythology

Birth and children

Rhea was born to the earth goddess

and the sky god

, one of their twelve (or thirteen)

children. According to

, Uranus imprisoned all his children, while Apollodorus states he only imprisoned the

and the

, not the

. With the help of Gaia, the youngest child,

, overthrew his father, became king in his place, freed his siblings, and took his sister Rhea to wife.

Ophion In some versions of Greek mythology, Ophion (; "serpent"; ''gen''.: Ὀφίωνος), also called Ophioneus ({{lang, grc, Ὀφιονεύς) ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Cronus and Rhea. Mythology Pher ...

and Eurynome, a

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

, were said to have ruled snowy

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

in the early age. Rhea and Cronus fought them, and threw them into the waves of the Ocean, thus becoming rulers in their place. Rhea, skilled in wrestling, battled Eurynome specifically. Gaia and Uranus told Cronus that just as he had overthrown his own father and become ruler of the cosmos, he was destined to be overcome by his own child; so as each of his children was born, he swallowed them. Rhea, Uranus, and Gaia devised a plan to save the last child, Zeus. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in a cavern on the island of

and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in

swaddling Swaddling is an ancient practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favour in the 17th cen ...

clothes, which he promptly swallowed; Rhea hid Zeus in a cave on

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida' ...

. Her attendants, the warrior-like Kouretes and Dactyls, acted as bodyguards for the infant Zeus, helping to conceal his whereabouts from his father. In some accounts, by the will of Rhea a golden dog guarded a goat which offered her udder and gave nourishment to the infant Zeus. Later on, Zeus changed the goat into an immortal among the stars while the golden dog that guarded the sacred spot in

was stolen by

Pandareus In Greek mythology, Pandareus () is the son of Merops and a nymph. His residence is usually given as either EphesusAntoninus Liberalis11as cited in Boeus' ''Ornithogonia'' or Miletus. Pausanias10.30.2/ref> Pandareus married Harmothoë and had s ...

.'''' In an obscure version, attested only on the east frieze of a temple at

Lagina Lagina () or Laginia (Λαγινία) was a town and religious centre in ancient Caria. It contained an important monumental temple of Hecate, at which great festivals were celebrated every year. For most of antiquity, it was a part of the terri ...

, the goddess of crossroads

Hecate Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associat ...

assisted Rhea in saving Zeus from his father. The frieze shows Hecate presenting to Cronus the swaddled stone while the real infant is being whisked away in safety. While Zeus was still an infant hidden in

, Rhea caught her husband Cronus with his mistress the nymph Philyra in the act; Cronus then transformed into a horse and galloped away, in order not to be seen by his wife. In some accounts, Rhea along with

Metis Metis or Métis, meaning "mixed" in French, may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peopl ...

gave Cronus the potion that made him disgorge the children he had eaten.

Olympian era

Following Zeus's ascension, Rhea withdrew from spotlight as she was no longer queen of gods, but remained an ally of her children and their families. In some traditions, Rhea disapproved of her children

and Zeus getting married, so the two had to elope in order to be together. Rhea was present in the birth of her grandson

, along with many other goddesses, the most notable exceptions being Hera and

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyia (; ; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter o ...

, the goddess of childbirth, whose absence left

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

in terrible agony. Rhea was said to be a goddess who eased childbirth for women. After

reunited with her daughter

, Zeus sent Rhea to persuade Demeter to return to

Olympus Olympus or Olympos () may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Lesbos * Mount Olympus (Euboea) ...

and rejoin the gods. Rhea raised another one of her grandsons,

, after the fiery death of his mother, the mortal princess

Semele Semele (; ), or Thyone (; ) in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia (Greek goddess), Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele ...

. Later on she went on to heal Dionysus' raging madness, which had been inflicted on him by the jealous Hera, causing him to wander around aimlessly for some time. Rhea gave Dionysus the

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

, which was thought to prevent drunkenness. Rhea sometimes joined Dionysus and his

Maenads In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the ''thiasus''. Their name, which comes from :wikt:μαίνομαι#Ancient Greek, μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to ...

in their frenzy dances. According to

Bacchylides Bacchylides (; ''Bakkhulides''; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted in Bacchylidea ...

, it was Rhea herself who restored

to life after his father

Tantalus Tantalus ( ), also called Atys, was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: for either revealing many secrets of the gods, for stealing ambrosia from them, or for trying to trick them into eating his son, he ...

cut him down. Rhea and

rescued

Creusa In Greek mythology, Creusa (; ''Kreousa'' "princess") may refer to the following figures: * Creusa, a naiad daughter of Gaia. * Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus, King of Athens and his wife, Praxithea. * Creusa, also known by the name Glauce, was ...

, the wife of

's son

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

, from the slavery the Greeks would have subjected her to after the

fall of Troy The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Me ...

. As for Aeneas, when he landed in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, a local warlord named

Turnus Turnus () was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas in Virgil's ''Aeneid''. According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph Venilia and is brother of the nymph ...

set his pine-framed vessels ablaze. Rhea (or

), remembering that those hulls had been crafted from trees felled on her holy mountains, transformed the vessels into sea nymphs. After

Melanion :''The name Hippomenes may also refer to the father of Leimone.'' In Greek mythology, Hippomenes (; ), also known as Melanion (; Μελανίων or Μειλανίων), was a son of the Arcadian AmphidamasApollodorus, 3.9.2 or of King Megare ...

won the hand of

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

in marriage thanks to the help he received from

, he neglected to thank her. Thus the goddess inflicted them with great passion for each other when they were near a temple of Rhea. The two then proceeded to have sex inside the temple. In anger, Rhea turned them into lions. At some point, a mortal man named Sangas offended the goddess, and she turned him into a river that bore his name;

Sangarius The Sakarya (; ; ; ) is the third longest river in Turkey. It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia. It was considered one of the principal rivers of Asia Minor (Anatolia) in Greek classical antiquity, and is mentioned in th ...

(now

Sakarya River The Sakarya (; ; ; ) is the third longest river in Turkey. It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia. It was considered one of the principal rivers of Asia Minor (Anatolia) in Greek classical antiquity, and is mentioned in th ...

) in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. In a similar manner a Phrygian man named Pyrrhus tried to rape her, but the goddess changed him into stone for his hubris. In one

Orphic Orphism is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into the Greek underworld and returned ...

myth, Zeus was filled with desire for his mother and pursued her, only for Rhea to refuse him and change into a serpent to flee. Zeus also turned himself into a serpent and raped her.Meisner, p
134
/ref> The child born from that union was their daughter

, and afterwards Rhea became

. The child, Persephone, was born so deformed that Rhea ran away from her frightened, and did not breastfeed her daughter.

Cult

Rhea had "no strong local cult or identifiable activity under her control." She was originally worshiped on the island of

, identified in mythology as the site of Zeus's infancy and upbringing. Her cults employed rhythmic, raucous chants and dances, accompanied by the tympanon (a wide, handheld drum), to provoke a religious ecstasy. Her priests impersonated her mythical attendants, the Curetes and Dactyls, with a clashing of bronze shields and cymbals. The tympanon's use in Rhea's rites may have been the source for its use in

's – in historical times, the resemblances between the two goddesses were so marked that some Greeks regarded Cybele as their own Rhea, who had deserted her original home on Mount Ida in Crete and fled to the wilds of Phrygia to escape Cronus. Rhea was often referred to as ''Meter Theon'' ("Mother of the Gods") and there were several temples around Ancient Greece dedicated to her under that name. Pausanias mentioned temples dedicated to Rhea under the name Meter Theon in Anagyros in Attika,

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

Arkadia Arcadia ( ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, administrative region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from ...

, on the Acropolis of Ancient Corinth, and in the district of Keramaikos in Athens, where the statue was made by Pheidias. In Sparta there was furthermore a sanctuary to ''Meter Megale'' (" heGreat Mother"). Olympia had both an altar and a temple to the Meter Theon: : A temple of no great size t Olympiain the Doric style they have called down to the present day Metroion (Temple of the Mother), keeping its ancient name. No image lies in it of the Meter Theon (Mother of the Gods), but there stand in it statues of Roman emperors. Her temple in

Akriai Acriae or Akriai (), or Acraeae or Akraiai (Ἀκραῖαι), or Acreia or Akreia (Ἄκρεια), also spelled Acraea, was a town of ancient Laconia, on the eastern side of the Laconian bay, 30 stadia south of Helos. Strabo describes the Eurotas ...

, Lakedaimon, was said to be her oldest sanctuary in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

: : Well worth seeing here t Akriai, Lakedaimon,are a temple and marble image of the Meter Theon (Mother of the Gods). The people of Akriai say that this is the oldest sanctuary of this goddess in the Peloponnesus. Statues of her were also standing in the sanctuaries of other gods and in other places, such as a statue of Parian marble by Damophon in Messene. The scene in which Rhea gave Chronos a stone in the place of Zeus after his birth was assigned to have taken place on Petrakhos Mountain in Arcadia as well as on Mount Thaumasios in Arcadia, both of which were holy places: : Mount Thaumasios (Wonderful) lies beyond the river Maloitas n Arkadia and the Methydrians hold that when Rhea was pregnant with Zeus, she came to this mountain and enlisted as her allies, in case Kronos should attack her, Hopladamos and his few Gigantes. They allow that she gave birth to her son on some part of Mount Lykaios, but they claim that here Kronos was deceived, and here took place the substitution of a stone for the child that is spoken of in the Greek legend. On the summit of the mountain is Rhea's Cave, into which no human beings may enter save only the women who are sacred to the goddess. The center of the worship of Rhea was however on Crete, where Mount Ida was said to be the birthplace of Zeus. Reportedly, there was a "House of Rhea" in Knossos: : The Titanes had their dwelling in the land about Knosos n Krete at the place where even to this day men point out foundations of a house of Rhea and a cypress grove which has been consecrated to her from ancient times. Upon Mount Ida, there was a cave sacred to Rhea: : In Crete there is said to be a sacred cave full of bees. In it, as storytellers say, Rhea gave birth to Zeus; it is a sacred place and no one is to go near it, whether god or mortal. At the appointed time each year a great blaze is seen to come out of the cave. Their story goes on to say that this happens whenever the blood from the birth of Zeus begins to boil up. The sacred bees that were the nurses of Zeus occupy this cave.

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...

, ''Metamorphoses'
19

Iconography

Rhea only appears in Greek art from the fourth century BC, when her iconography draws on that of

; the two therefore are often indistinguishable;Roller, Lynn E.
''In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian Cybele,'' University of California Press
1999
p. 171
both can be shown wearing a crown (either a

Mural crown A mural crown () is a Crown (headgear), crown or headpiece representing city walls, fortified tower, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the ancient Rome, Romans ...

or a

Polos The ''polos'' crown (plural ''poloi''; ) is a high cylindrical Crown (headgear), crown worn by mythological goddesses of the Ancient Near East and Anatolia and adopted by the ancient Greeks for imaging the mother goddesses Rhea (mythology), Rhea, ...

), seated on a throne flanked by

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s, riding a lion, and on a

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

drawn by two lions. In

Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

, her counterpart Cybele was Magna Mater deorum Idaea, who was brought to Rome and was identified in as an ancestral Trojan deity. On a functional level, Rhea was thought equivalent to Roman

or ''Opis''.

Depiction in ancient literature

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, Rhea is the mother of the gods, although not a universal mother like

, the Phrygian Great Mother, with whom she was later identified. In the ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

'' by

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...

, the fusion of Rhea and Phrygian Cybele is completed. "Upon the Mother depend the winds, the ocean, the whole earth beneath the snowy seat of Olympus; whenever she leaves the mountains and climbs to the great vault of heaven, Zeus himself, the son of

, makes way, and all the other immortal gods likewise make way for the dread goddess," the seer

Mopsus Mopsus (; Ancient Greek: Μόψος, ''Mopsos'') was the name of one of two famous seers in Greek mythology; his rival being Calchas. A historical or legendary ''Mopsos'' or ''Mukšuš'' may have been the founder of a house in power at widespread ...

tells Jason in ''

''; Jason climbed to the sanctuary high on Mount Dindymon to offer sacrifice and libations to placate the goddess, so that the Argonauts might continue on their way. For her ''

temenos A ''temenos'' ( Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy g ...

'' they wrought an image of the goddess, a ''

xoanon A xoanon (, ; plural: , from the verb , , to carve or scrape ood was a wooden cult image from Archaic Greece. Classical Greeks associated such cult objects, whether aniconic or effigy, with the legendary Daedalus. Many such cult images were p ...

'', from a vine-stump. There "they called upon the mother of Dindymon, mistress of all, the dweller in Phrygia, and with her

Titias In Greek mythology, Titias (Τιτίας) or Titius (Τίτιος) was one of the Idaean Dactyls. Mythology Titias and his brother Cyllenus were said to have been venerated in Phrygia as companions of Cybele and "guides of fate of cities". Th ...

and Kyllenos who alone of the many Cretan Daktyls of Ida are called 'guiders of destiny' and 'those who sit beside the Idaean Mother'." They leapt and danced in their armour: "For this reason the Phrygians still worship Rhea with tambourines and drums".

Descendants

Significant modern namesakes

* The name of the bird species '' Rhea'' is derived from the goddess's name ''Rhea''. * Rhea, the second largest moon of the planet

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

, is named after her.

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

, ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921
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*

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is ...

, ''

'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Anonymous, ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
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* Caldwell, Richard, ''Hesiod's Theogony'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (June 1, 1987). . *

Callimachus Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which ...

. ''Hymns'', translated by Alexander William Mair (1875–1928). London: William Heinemann; New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1921
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*

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

, ''Recognitions'' from Ante-Nicene Library Volume 8'','' translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867
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*

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, ''Diodorus Siculus: The Library of History''. Translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of Greek and Ancient History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Qajar dynasty, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Feli ...

. Twelve volumes.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 198
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* Fowler, R. L. (2013), ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary'', Oxford University Press, 2013. . *

Fulgentius Fulgentius is a Latin male given name which means "bright, brilliant". It may refer to: *Fabius Planciades Fulgentius (5th–6th century), Latin grammarian *Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (5th–6th century), bishop of Ruspe, North Africa, possib ...

, ''Mythologies'' translated by Whitbread, Leslie George. Ohio State University Press.1971
Online version at theoi.com
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. . * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H. J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
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, ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

, ''The Odyssey'' with an English Translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*''

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram. The hymns praise deities of the Greek pantheon and retell mythological stories, often involving a deity's birth, their acceptance among the gods ...

'' 2 ''to Demeter'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*''

'' 3 ''to Apollo'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Frisk, Hjalmar (1970) ''Griechisches Etymologisches Worterbuch Band 2'', Carl Winter Universitätsverlag. * Hopkinson, N, "Rhea in Callimachus' Hymn to Zeus" in ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', Vol. 104 (1984), 176–177. *

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Johnston, Sarah Iles, (1991). ''Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece''. * Kerényi, Karl (1976), ''Dionysos: Archetypal image of indestructible life'', trans. Ralph Manheim, Princeton University Press, 1976. . * Kern, Otto. ''Orphicorum Fragmenta'', Berlin, 1922
Internet Archive
*

Lycophron Lycophron ( ; ; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and miscellaneous works He was born at Chalcis in Euboea, a ...

, ''Alexandra'' (or ''Cassandra'') in ''Callimachus and Lycophron with an English translation by A. W. Mair; Aratus, with an English translation by G. R. Mair'', London: W. Heinemann, New York: G. P. Putnam 1921
Internet Archive
* Meisner, Dwayne A., ''Orphic Tradition and the Birth of the Gods'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2018. . *

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis (, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century AD) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century AD. He i ...

, ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' (, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hex ...

'' translated by William Henry Denham Rouse (1863–1950), from the Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1940.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

Oppian Oppian (, ; ), also known as Oppian of Anazarbus, of Corycus, or of Cilicia, was a 2nd-century Greco-Roman poet during the reign of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, who composed the ''Halieutica'', a five-book didactic epic on fishing. ...

, ''Cynegetica'' in ''Oppian, Colluthus, Tryphiodorus, With an English Translation by A. W. Mair'', London, W. Heinemann, 1928
Internet Archive
*

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Pausanias, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W. H. S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''

Cratylus Cratylus ( ; , ''Kratylos'') was an ancient Athenian philosopher from the mid-late 5th century BC, known mostly through his portrayal in Plato's dialogue '' Cratylus''. He was a radical proponent of Heraclitean philosophy and influenced the you ...

'' in ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, '' Timaeus'' in ''Plato in Twelve Volumes'', Vol. 9 translated by W. R. M. Lamb, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, ''Geography'', Editors, H. C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A., London. George Bell & Sons. 1903
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). . * Valerius Flaccus, ''Argonautica'' translated by Mozley, J. H. Loeb Classical Library Volume 286. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928
Online version at theoi.com.
*

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

.'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910
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, ''Georgics'' in ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics Of Vergil''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900
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* West, M. L. (1983), ''The Orphic Poems'',

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Oxford, 1983. .

External links

*
RHEA from Greek Mythology Link
{{Authority control Cretan mythology Greek goddesses Earth goddesses Fertility goddesses Food goddesses Mother goddesses Children of Gaia Titans (mythology) Children of Oceanus Mountain goddesses Saturnian deities Divine women of Zeus Mythological rape victims Cybele Lion goddesses Deeds of Zeus Deeds of Demeter Mothers of the twelve Olympians Greek mythology of Anatolia Women of the Trojan war Deities in the Iliad Shapeshifters in Greek mythology