Home › Glossary › Letter C

Cronus

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Titan son of Uranus who overthrew his father and devoured his children, later dethroned by Zeus; archetype of fearful tyranny.

Detailed Definition
Cronus was the leader of the Titans who, fearing prophecy, swallowed his offspring—only to be overthrown by his son Zeus. He represents time’s devouring nature and the inevitability of generational change. In poetry, Cronus (or Saturn) symbolizes tyranny, the passage of time, and the cyclical nature of power and decay.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Hesiod’s "Theogony," Cronus swallows his children, symbolizing time’s devouring nature; In Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Prometheus Unbound,” Cronus (as Saturn) represents oppressive tyranny; In W.B. Yeats’s “Leda and the Swan,” Cronus’s lineage leads to Helen’s violent birth; In Robert Graves’s “The Greek Myths,” Cronus embodies cyclical destruction and renewal; In modern eco-poetry, Cronus often symbolizes ecological time and planetary cycles; In Louise Glück’s “The Triumph of Achilles,” Cronus’s castration of Uranus echoes generational violence.
Additional Notes
Cronus (Kronos), Titan who overthrew his father Uranus and was in turn overthrown by Zeus, symbolizes cyclical time, generational conflict, and devouring power (he ate his children); poets reference Cronus to explore themes of succession, the devouring nature of time (“Father Time” with scythe derives from him), and the inevitability of change—his castration of Uranus also signifies primal rupture and creation through violence.
Also Known As
Titan of Time Devourer of Children Father of Zeus Saturn
Skip to main content