Rhea

Rhea was the Titan mother of the gods, and goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation.

Parents:  Uranus and Gaia
Symbols: Lion, crown, silver fir and cornucopia
Siblings: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Cyclops, Furies, Giants, Hecatoncheires, Hyperion, Iapetus, Oceanus, Meliae, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, Theia and Themis
Consort: Cronus
Children: Chiron, Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus
Roman equivalent: Cybele

Rhea and the Omphalos stone. Detail of an Attic red-figure pelike, 5th c. BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art. (c) theoi.com

Rhea was the wife of the Titan Cronus and Queen of Heaven. When her husband heard a prophecy that he would be deposed by one of his children, he took to swallowing each of them as soon as they were born. But Rhea bore her youngest, Zeus, in secret and hid him away in a cave in Crete guarded by shield-clashing Curetes. In his stead she presented Cronus with a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes which he promptly devoured.

Roman relief of Rhea handing omphalos stone to Cronus. Capitoline Museum. (c) theoi.com
Detail of an Attic red-figure pelike, 5th c. BC., depicting Rhea handing the Omphalos stone to Cronus. Metropolitan Museum of Art. (c) theoi.com

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