What is Rhea the goddess of?
Written By: Rhea, in Greek religion, ancient goddess, probably pre-Hellenic in origin, who was worshipped sporadically throughout the Greek world. She was associated with fruitfulness and had affinities with Gaea (Earth) and the Great Mother of the Gods (also called Cybele).
What did Rhea do in the Odyssey?
Rhea was said to be a goddess who eased childbirth for women. Rhea also healed the madness of another one of her grandsons, Dionysus, who had been inflicted with it by Hera, his father Zeus 's jealous wife, causing him to wander around aimlessly for some time. Rhea raised the young Dionysus after the death of his mother, Semele.
What did Rhea do for Cronus?
Rhea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan. She was responsible for the way things flow in the kingdom of Cronus (her name means 'that which flows'). Rhea and Cronus had six children; Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera and Zeus.
What are some mind-blowing facts about Rhea?
Rhea was very unhappy not being allowed to raise her first five children. 12. When Rhea gave birth to her sixth child, she tricked Cronos. Instead of giving him the baby Zeus, she gave him a rock wrapped in a blanket. 13. Cronos swallowed the rock thinking it was the baby. 14. Rhea secretly took the baby Zeus to Crete to be raised by Nymphs.
What is Rhea most known for?
Rhea, in Greek religion, ancient goddess, probably pre-Hellenic in origin, who was worshipped sporadically throughout the Greek world. She was associated with fruitfulness and had affinities with Gaea (Earth) and the Great Mother of the Gods (also called Cybele).
What did Rhea do Greek mythology?
Rhea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan. She was responsible for the way things flow in the kingdom of Cronus (her name means 'that which flows').
What are the powers of Rhea?
AbilitiesFertility: As the Titaness of Fertility and Motherhood, Rhea is an adept at delivering newborn babies and raising children. ... Serenity Inducement: As the Titaness of Comfort and Ease, Rhea has the ability to induce powerful feelings of tranquility in others, which she channeled through her aura.More items...
What happened to the goddess Rhea?
Rhea, the daughter of Gaia and Uranus, was a Greek Titan and the mother of the Olympians. Along with the other Titans, Rhea was imprisoned in Tartarus by her tyrannical father; she was eventually liberated by her brother Cronus, whom she married.
What is Rhea's weakness?
She had strengths and weaknesses like every other person, her strengths were that she was a fertile Goddess, and in defense of her children, she was a crafty and daring person. Her weakness was that she put up with Cronus eating her children for too long and saving them at a later time.
What is the personality of Rhea?
Rhea is a name that signifies a freedom-loving and free-spirited individual. Nothing is conventional with your love of change and adventure. You make sensible decisions very quickly, especially in a dangerous or difficult situation.
What is the symbol of Rhea?
Rhea is usually shown as a matronly woman with a turret crown, standing between two lions or on a chariot pulled by lions. The moon is another one of her symbols representing her role as a fertility Goddess.
How did Rhea save Zeus?
Zeus' Struggle for Power To pre-empt any takeover he, therefore, swallowed all of his children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. However, Rhea saved her youngest child Zeus by wrapping a stone in swaddling clothes and giving this to Cronus to swallow. Zeus was spirited away to Mt.
What is Rhea passionate?
Rhea's passion for education was not lost in those years: she focused on getting her siblings to school, and in fact, one of them has recently gone to college. Rhea is determined to give her siblings the opportunities she did not have when she was young.
Who was Rhea's lover?
KronosHesiod, Theogony 453 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) : "But Rhea was subject in love to Kronos (Cronus) and bare splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Haides . . . and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker [Poseidon], and wise Zeus . . .
Who is Rhea in God of War?
Rhea was the wife of Cronos and the mother of the original six Olympian gods. She betrayed her husband who swallowed their first five children, by hiding their sixth child from him. This would result in the Titanomachy, leading to the Titans defeat and banishment to Tartarus.
How did Rhea save Zeus?
Zeus' Struggle for Power To pre-empt any takeover he, therefore, swallowed all of his children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. However, Rhea saved her youngest child Zeus by wrapping a stone in swaddling clothes and giving this to Cronus to swallow. Zeus was spirited away to Mt.
How did Rhea trick Cronus?
After the birth of their sixth child, Zeus, Rhea played a trick on Kronos. She gave him a stone to swallow instead of the baby. She hid Zeus in a cave and the young god was brought up by a goat. When Zeus was older he asked to become Kronos' cup-bearer.
Who is Rhea in God of War?
Rhea was the wife of Cronos and the mother of the original six Olympian gods. She betrayed her husband who swallowed their first five children, by hiding their sixth child from him. This would result in the Titanomachy, leading to the Titans defeat and banishment to Tartarus.
How did Rhea become Demeter?
In one Orphic 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. The child born from that union was their daughter Persephone, and afterwards Rhea became Demeter.
Who was Rhea's brother?
A daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea, Rhea was a Titan. She married her brother Cronus, who, warned that one of his children was fated to overthrow him, swallowed his children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon soon after they were born.
Where did Rhea give Cronus the stone?
Rhea concealed the birth of Zeus in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. This he swallowed in the belief that it was Zeus. Subsequently Cronus was vanquished by Zeus and was forced to disgorge the swallowed children. Britannica Quiz. Ancient Greek Gods and Demigods Quiz.
What is the Greek goddess?
Rhea, in Greek religion, ancient goddess, probably pre-Hellenic in origin, who was worshipped sporadically throughout ...
Who is the goddess of fruitfulness?
Rhea, in Greek religion, ancient goddess, probably pre-Hellenic in origin, who was worshipped sporadically throughout the Greek world. She was associated with fruitfulness and had affinities with Gaea (Earth) and the Great Mother of the Gods (also called Cybele).
Who introduced the greater rhea?
The two individuals on the left are leucistic. The genus Rhea was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the greater rhea ( Rhea americana) as the type species.
Where are rheas from?
The rheas ( / ˈriːə /) are large ratites ( flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bone) in the order Rheiformes, native to South America, distantly related to the ostrich and emu.
How many birds are in a flock of rheas?
During the non-breeding season they may form flocks of between 20 and 25 birds, although the lesser rhea forms smaller flocks than this. When in danger they flee in a zig-zag course, using first one wing then the other, similar to a rudder. During breeding season the flocks break up.
What is a rhea spider?
Depending on the South American region, the rhea is known locally as ñandú guazu ( Guaraní, meaning big spider, most probably in relation to their habit of opening and lowering alternate wings when they run), ema ( Portuguese ), suri ( Aymara and Quechua ), or choique ( Mapudungun ).
How big are rheas?
americana can reach 170 cm (67 in) tall at the head, 100 cm (39 in) at the back and can weigh up to 40 kg (88 lb), The lesser rhea is smaller, they are 100 cm (39 in) tall. Their wings are large for a flightless bird (250 cm (8.2 ft)) and are spread while running, to act like sails. Unlike most birds, rheas have only three toes. Their tarsus has 18 to 22 horizontal plates on the front of it. They also store urine separately in an expansion of the cloaca.
What is the origin of the name "Rhea"?
Etymology. The name "rhea" was used in 1752 by Paul Möhring and adopted as the English common name. Möhring named the rhea after the Greek Titan Rhea, whose Ancient Greek name ( Ῥέα) is thought to come from ἔρα "ground". This was fitting with the rhea being a flightless ground bird.
Where is the lesser rhea found?
Regarded as a separate third species by the IUCN. R. p. pennata d'Orbigny 1834, Darwin's lesser rhea of Patagonian steppes in southern Argentina and southern Chile. Altiplano and Patagonia in South America.
What are some interesting facts about Rhea?
Rhea Facts. 1. Gaia, Mother Earth, and Uranus, Sky, created six twins known as the Titans. 2. Cronos and Rhea were two of the twins. 3. Gaia and Uranus gave birth to three cyclops. 4. Uranus was so unhappy with his offspring being Cyclops he forced them to return to Gaia’s, their mother, womb.
Where did Rhea bring Zeus' baby?
Rhea secretly smuggled her baby Zeus to Crete where the baby was raised by nymphs. The prophecy predicted came to be when Zeus later returned and defeated his father in a battle between the Titans and Olympians.
Who did Gaia ask to help her?
The pain of carrying the six Cyclopes so angered Gaia that she planned revenge against Uranus. She asked the six Titans, her twins, to help her. Her youngest twin, Cronos came to his mother’s aid. He cut off his father’s private parts with a sickle he had made.
Who was the goddess that threw his father's parts into the sea?
Cronus threw his father’s private parts into the sea. Some versions of this myth have the goddess Aphrodite created from Uranus’s blood in the sea. Some of the blood was also said to drop on earth and create several kinds of scary offspring. Cronos then married Rhea, his sister.
Who was Rhea?
Rhea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan.
What was the role of Rhea?
Rhea's Role. Although Rhea was considered the "mother of gods", similarly to Gaea and Cybele, she did not have a strong cult and many followers. She had a temple in Crete, the place in which she hid Zeus to save from his father.
What is the symbolism of Rhea?
Rhea was often symbolised as a pair of lions that pulled a celestial chariot. This symbol was often placed on city gates, the best known example being that at the city of Mycenae, where two stone lions guarded the gates.
Who is the sister of Cronus?
Rhea. Rhea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan. She was responsible for the way things flow in the kingdom of Cronus (her name means 'that which flows').
Etymology
A standard folk etymology of the name “Rhea” (Greek Ῥέα or Ῥεία, translit. Rhea or Rheia )—and the one endorsed by Plato in Cratylus —claimed that “Rhea” was a feminine form of the ancient Greek verb rheō, meaning “flow,” “discharge,” or “stream.” 1
Attributes
Rhea was a mother goddess, beloved for her nurturing compassion. From relatively early on, she was closely identified with the Phrygian mother goddess Cybele; as a result, the attributes of the two goddesses became largely indistinguishable (indeed, for most of Greek and Roman history, Rhea and Cybele were regarded as one and the same).
Family
Rhea was the daughter of Gaia, the primordial goddess of the Earth, and Uranus, the primordial god of the skies. Their union brought forth not only Rhea, but the other Titans as well: Oceanus , Coeus , Crius , Hyperion , Iapetus , Thea , Themis , Mnemosyne , Phoebe , Tethys and Cronus.
Mythology
According to Hesiod’s Theogony —the eighth-century BCE epic explaining the origins of the gods and the Greek cosmic order—Rhea was the daughter of Gaia (“Earth”) and Uranus (“Heaven”). She was one of the deities known as the Titans.
Rhea and Cybele
By the fourth century BCE (if not earlier), Rhea was widely identified with the Phrygian mother goddess Cybele. Indeed, in Greek literature and cult, the names Rhea and Cybele were often used interchangeably. The strange mythology of Cybele can thus be added to the familiar early myths of the Titan Rhea.
Worship
Rhea was worshipped widely throughout the ancient world under a variety of names.
Pop Culture
While references to Rhea are rare in popular culture, her name has appeared in a few non-mythical contexts. For example, the fifth moon orbiting the planet Saturn was named for her (a fitting choice, as Saturn itself was named after her father’s Roman analogue).
Where did Rhea live?
Rhea had a temple at Phaistos on the island of Crete and was believed by some to have originated from Crete; other sources associate her specifically with Mount Ida which is visible from Phaistos.
What is the Greek goddess Rhea?
our editorial process. deTraci Regula. Updated June 20, 2019. Rhea (also known as Rheia) is an ancient Greek goddess belonging to an earlier generation of deities. She's a fertile, crafty maternal figure and the mother of some of the most well-known Greek gods and goddesses, yet she is often forgotten.
What is the symbolism of Rhea?
Symbolism and Temples. Statues and images of Rhea may show her holding a wrapped stone which she pretended was the baby Zeus and is sometimes seated in a throne on in a chariot. A pair of lions or lionesses, found in Greece in ancient times, maybe in attendance with her.
Who was Rhea married to?
Rhea was married to Kronos (also spelled Cronus) who feared that his own child would replace him as King of the Gods, just as he had done with his own father Ouranos. So when Rhea gave birth, he gobbled up the children. They did not die but remained trapped in his body. Rhea finally grew tired of losing her children in this way and managed to get Kronos to swallow a wrapped rock instead of her most recent baby, Zeus. Zeus was raised in a cave on Crete by the goat nymph Almatheia and guarded by a group of militant men called the kouretes, who concealed his cries by banging together their shields, keeping Kronos from learning of his existence. Zeus ultimately fought and defeated his father, freeing his brothers and sisters.
Who is the mother of Zeus?
Rhea is considered to be one of the Titans, the generation of gods preceding the Olympians of which her son Zeus became the leader. Her parents are Gaia and Ouranos and she is most renowned as the mother of Zeus, but many of The 12 Olympians are her offspring Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon. Once she bore her children, she had little to do with their later myths.
Is Rhea a mother goddess?
Rhea is sometimes confused with Gaia; both are strong mother goddesses believed to rule over heaven and earth. The names of the goddesses Rhea and Hera are anagrams of each other, by rearranging the letters you can spell either name. Regula, deTraci. "Fast Facts on the Greek Goddess Rhea.".
Who was the highest ideal of Rhea?
The highest ideal of Rhea in works of art was produced by Pheidias; she was seldom represented in a standing posture, but generally seated on a throne, adorned with the mural crown, from which a veil hangs down. Lions usually appear crouching on the right and left of her throne, and sometimes she is seen riding in a chariot drawn by lions.
What is the name of the god Rhea?
Some consider Rhea (Ῥέα) to be merely another form of ἔρα(era, "the earth"), while others connect it with ῥέω(rheō, "I flow"1); but thus much seems undeniable, that Rhea, like Demeter, was a goddess of the earth.
What is the name of the mother of the gods?
The various names by which we find Rhea designated, are, "the great mother," "the mother of the gods," Cybele, Cybebe, Agdistis, Berecyntia, Brimo, Dindymene, "the great Idaean mother of the gods." Her children by Cronus are enumerated by Hesiod: under the name of Cybele she is also called the mother of Alce, of the Phrygian king Midas, and of Nicaea.30
What is the name of the Roman goddess who wore a robe around her neck?
A Roman altar relief depicts a bare-chested Rhea wearing a robe around her neck. Syrian coins depict her between two Corybantes and holding the infant Zeus on her arm.
Where did Rhea give birth?
The temple of the Dindymenian mother had been built by Pindarus.15Another legend stated that Rhea gave birth at Chaeroneia in Bo eotia,16and in a temple of Zeus at Plataeae Rhea was represented in the act of handing the stone covered in cloth to Cronus.17At Athens there was a temple of Rhea in the peribolos of the Olympieium18and the Athenians are even said to have been the first among the Greeks who adopted the worship of the mother of the gods.19Her temple there was called the Metroum.
Who wrote the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology?
This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology(1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain.
Overview
The rheas , also known as nandus (/ˈnænduːz/ NAN-dooz) or South American ostriches, are large ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bone) in the order Rheiformes, native to South America, distantly related to the ostrich and emu. Most taxonomic authorities recognize two extant species: the greater or American rhea (Rhea americana), and the lesser or Darwin's rhea (Rhea pennat…
Etymology
The name "rhea" was used in 1752 by Paul Möhring and adopted as the English common name. Möhring named the rhea after the Greek Titan Rhea, whose Ancient Greek name (Ῥέα) is thought to come from ἔρα "ground". This was fitting with the rhea being a flightless ground bird. Depending on the South American region, the rhea is known locally as ñandú guazu (Guaraní, meaning big spider, most probably in relation to their habit of opening and lowering alternate wings when the…
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus Rhea was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the greater rhea (Rhea americana) as the type species.
The genus contains two extant species and eight subspecies, although one subspecies is disputed:
Rhea pennata was not always in the genus Rhea. In 2008, the SACC, the last …
Description
Rheas are large, flightless birds with grey-brown plumage, long legs and long necks, similar to an ostrich. Large males of R. americana can reach 170 cm (67 in) tall at the head, 100 cm (39 in) at the back and can weigh up to 40 kg (88 lb). The lesser rhea is smaller, with a height of 100 cm (39 in). Their wings are large for a flightless bird (250 cm (8.2 ft)) and are spread while running, to act like sails. …
Distribution and habitat
Rheas are from South America only and are limited within the continent to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. They are grassland birds and both species prefer open land. The greater rheas live in open grasslands, pampas, and chaco woodlands. They prefer to breed near water and prefer lowlands, seldom going above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). On the other han…
Behavior
Rheas tend to be silent birds, with the exception being when they are chicks or when the male is seeking a mate. During breeding season, the male will attempt to attract females by calling. This call is a loud booming noise. While calling like this, they will lift the front of their body, ruffle their plumage, all while keeping their neck stiff. They will then extend and raise their wings, and run short dista…
Status and conservation
The numbers of both the greater and puna rhea are decreasing as their habitats are shrinking. Both are considered near threatened by the IUCN. The IUCN also states that they are both approaching vulnerable status. The lesser rhea is classified as least concern.
Human interaction
Rheas have many uses in South America. Feathers are used for feather dusters, skins are used for cloaks or leather, and their meat is a staple to many people.
Gauchos traditionally hunt rheas on horseback, throwing bolas or boleadoras—a throwing device consisting of three balls joined by rope—at their legs, which i…