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In Greek Mythology , Cronus ( Ancient Greek '''Κρόνος'''—of obscure etymology, perhaps related to "horned" as seen in the word Unicorn , which is indicitive of its connection to the levant deity El ), also called '''Cronos''' or '''Kronos''', was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans , divine descendants of Gaia , the earth, and Uranus , the sky. He overthrew his father, Uranus, and ruled during the mythological Golden Age , until he was overthrown by his own son, Zeus , and imprisoned in the depths of the underworld, Tartarus . As a result of his association with the bountiful and virtuous Golden Age, Cronus was worshiped as a Harvest deity, overseeing crops such as corn and grains, and nature, agriculture, and the progression of time in relation to humans in general. He was usually depicted with a Sickle , which he used to harvest crops and which was also the weapon he used to castrate and depose Uranus. In Athens , on the twelfth day of every month ( Hekatombaion ), a festival called Kronia was held in honor of Cronus to celebrate the harvest. Cronus was also identified in Classical Antiquity with the Roman Deity Saturn . IN ROMAN MYTHOLOGY AND LATER CULTURE See Also: Saturn (mythology) While the Greeks considered Cronus a force of chaos along with disorder, believing that the Olympian gods had brought an era of peace and order by seizing power from the crude and malicious Titans alough, the Romans had a more positive view of the deity. Although the Roman deity Saturn was conflated heavily with Cronus, the Romans favored Saturn much more than the Greeks did Cronus. While Cronus was considered a cruel and tempestuous deity to the Greeks, his nature under Roman influence became more innocuous, with his association with the Golden Age eventually causing him to become the god of "human time", i.e., calendars, seasons, and harvests—not to be confused with Chronos , the unrelated embodiment of time in general. While the Greeks largely neglected Cronus, considering him a mere intermediary stage between Uranus and Zeus, he was a larger aspect of Roman mythology and Religion ; Saturnalia was a festival dedicated in his honor, and at least one Temple To Saturn existed in the early Roman Kingdom . It is important to note that the due to the numerous cities in ancient and classic times which would exist in isolation, numerous myths were developed and addopted to the local region. As technology allowed cultures of common descention to rejoin the peoples made accommadations to create a unified understanding of the universe. It should also be noted that this is not restrained to greeco-roman culture. Historical documents reveal this to be a common event affecting most religions. As a result of Cronus' importance to the Romans, his Roman variant, Saturn, has had a large influence on Western Culture . In accordance with the Near Eastern tradition, the seventh day of the Judaeo-Christian week was also called in Latin ''Dies Saturni'' ("Day of Saturn"), which in turn degraded to the English '' Saturday ''. In Astronomy , the planet Saturn is called so because of Roman influence. It was considered the seventh and outermost of the Seven Heavenly Objects that are visible with the naked eye. IN NEOPAGANISM Modern Neopagans have a rather New Age view of Cronus. In particular, Hellenistic Neopagan Sect s in the United States hold many metaphoric interpretations of the myths regarding Cronus. Sometimes called the "All Consumer", in many ways Cronus is similar to Christian myths regarding Satan , though the similarity of the Roman name "Saturn" is a coincidence. In accordance with the Greek mythological traditions, Cronus is believed by many to be a cruel and malevolent god that feeds on dominance and subjugation. Cronus is often believed to be a great and terrible Titan imprisoned in Tartarus , which is envisioned as a place of eternal torment in many ways similar to Hell . Cronus is typically seen as a horrible tyrant god, and believed to force those cast into Tartarus into prostration before him as they are tormented by Erinyes, Cyclopes, and various other entities, comparable to the role of Judaeo-Christian Demon s. New Age Neopagan artistic representations of Cronus often depict him as having horns like a Ram , derived both from the comparisons to Satan (and thus originally from Pan and from the obscure etymology where ''Cronus'' is believed to mean "Horned One". IN POPULAR CULTURE In the real-time strategy computer game Age Of Mythology , Cronus—who is called Kronos within the game—is equivocated with Chronos , the personification of time in Greek mythology. While Cronus was often seen as a god of agriculture to the Greeks, Kronos in the game is the Titan of Time . He is also seen as more of a demonic figure than in traditional Greek mythology. He plays a villain role. In the long running series Stargate SG1 , Cronus is a Goa'uld to whom Teal'c's father served as first prime. After failing to succeed in a no-win scenario, Cronus killed him, resulting in a young Teal'c joining the ranks of Apophis, now resolved to take revenge upon him. In the action adventure video game for PS2 , God Of War , Cronus—who like above is also called Kronos—is the last living titan who was made to carry the mountain which held The Temple of Pandora on his back. It is said that Kronos died after one thousand years of wandering the desert sands of Greece with the mountain chained to him. Cronus ate his children so they wouldn't overthrow him. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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