Jan 10
Crono, explained
Painting inspired by ‘I Miti Greci’ by Robert Graves
An image worth of a thousand stories.
A painting inspired by poetry.
Heavy as Time is concrete on its surface.
The divine of time described in a text that gave energy and traction to my creative process.
Not to be confused with Chronos, god of time in Orphism cult, Cronus or Kronos is a pre-Olympic deity of Greek mythology and religion, in the most widespread myths, he is son of Uranus and Gea or Gaia, Titan of Fertility, of Time and Agriculture, second lord of world and father of Zeus and the first Olympians.
Identified as Saturn in Roman mythology.
Inspiration for this painting came to me by reading this text I’ll report below.
I do not own the copyright for the drafting of this text.
An extract from the chapter ‘Cronos’ by the author Robert Graves.
Author of classical-style verses, he has always strenuously defended reasons for poetry in an era dominated, in his wise opinion, by economic interests and political or religious fanaticism, considering writing verses as the most deserving work. He was one of the greatest English poets and writers of the twentieth century, as well as the author of critical essays, novels, adaptations and works of science fiction.
Cronus dethroned — Chapter 7 — From ‘I Miti Greci’ by Robert Graves
Kronos married his sister Rhea, to whom the oak is sacred. But it was prophesied both by Mother Earth and by the dying Uranus that one of Cronos’ sons would dethrone him. Every year, therefore, he devoured Rhea’s children: first Hestia, then Demeter and Hera, then Hades and lastly Poseidon. Rea was furious. She gave birth to Zeus, her third son, in the middle of the night, on Mount Liceo in Arcadia, where her bodies cast no shadow, and after having plunged him into the Neda River, she entrusted him to Mother Earth. She brought Zeus to Litto, Crete, and hid him in the Dictaea cave on the Aegean hill. There, Zeus was assisted by the ash tree nymph Adrastea and her sister Io, both daughters of Melisseo, and by the goat Amalthea. The child fed on honey and drank Amalthea’s milk in the company of his half-brother ‘Pan’. Around the golden cradle of the child Zeus, which was hung from the branches of a tree so that Cronus could not find his son either in heaven or on earth or at sea, the Curetes sons of Rhea mounted the armed guard, beating with their axes on their shields made a lot of noise and covered the cries of the child. Having reached the mature age, Zeus went to Metis, who advised him to go to his mother Rhea and ask her to be entrusted with the task of cupbearer of Cronus. Rhea, happy to take revenge on her husband, gave him the emetic which, according to Metis’ advice, he had to mix with Cronus’ drinks, who, after drinking a lot, first vomited the stone, then his older brothers and sisters of Zeus. They all jumped up unharmed and asked Zeus to lead them in the war against the Titans, led by Atlas. The war lasted ten years, but finally Gaia prophesied the victory of Zeus; if he had allied himself with those whom Cronus had exiled in Tartarus. The Cyclops gave Zeus a thunderbolt, Hades an invisibility helmet and Poseidon a trident.
Hades secretly entered Cronus’ abode to steal his weapons and, while Poseidon threatened him with a trident to divert his attention, Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt. Zeus himself placed the stone vomited up by Cronus at Delphi and the stone is still there, still anointed with oil and surrounded by flocks of non-woven wool.
The story in Graves’ book continues with a rather long series of notes and clarifications regarding the same myth recount in various places in Greece, but what I have reported is certainly the most famous and interesting one, as well as the one that allowed me to find inspiration for this work.
Father and sons are bound by an element harder than stone, and nothing dissolves it except for mutual respect.
The stone is Cronus himself.
