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Chronos is the most easily recognizable titan in Greek mythology. He is the embodiment of time and eternity, and is portrayed either withered, old, and carrying a sickle or youthful spinning the wheels of the heavens.
Most individuals think of Chronos as a villain. This is not the case. Chronos was worshipped in the ancient world, even if not very often. As the god of time, most often it's slow decay on humans and mortal creatures/plants he was heavily associated with the agricultural cycle. His rituals under his Roman version of Saturn eventually gave rise to most midwinter festivals and the earliest forms of a recognizable "Christmas" season. He was the force that moved the stage of the universe and his worship kept the "universal clock" flowing.
While he did eat his children, he nearly suffered a similar fate in his youth. Chronos is the son of Gaea and Ouranos, the earth and sky. Since his birth, Chronos was known to be wily and bold. Like most fathers in Greek mythology Ouranos wasn't earning a "Father of the year" badge any time soon.
He was known to mistreat Gaea and if he thought any other children were ugly he would hide them away so they never saw the light such as the hundred handed giants, and many primordial monsters.
Gaea and Ouranos' earlier children and the rest of the Titans Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Thea, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Thethys were all offered a flint sickle by Gaea to maim or kill Ouranos. Chronos was the only one who took the sickle then waited for his father to approach his mother.
As Ouranos was beginning to attack Gaea, Chronos grabbed his father's legs and castrated Ouranos. The blood of his father then grew into new gods, nymphs, and creatures. Chronos then took Rhea for his wife, and they peacefully led a golden age of humanity.
Unfortunately, after castrating his father Chronos was cursed to meet the same fate his father had. As his paranoia grew with each child Rhea had, history eventually repeated itself with his son Zeus who cut him to bits and placed his remains in the lowest part of the worst pits of the underworld.