He married
Rhea, daughter of Uranus and Gaea, a very important divinity, to whom a
special chapter will be devoted hereafter. Their children were, three sons:
Aides (Pluto), Poseidon (Neptune), Zeus (Jupiter), and three daughters:
Hestia (Vesta), Demeter (Ceres), and Hera (Juno). Cronus, having an uneasy
conscience, was afraid that his children might one day rise up against his
authority, and thus verify the prediction of his father {15} Uranus. In
order, therefore, to render the prophecy impossible of fulfilment, Cronus
swallowed each child as soon as it was born,[3] greatly to the sorrow and
indignation of his wife Rhea. When it came to Zeus, the sixth and last,
Rhea resolved to try and save this one child at least, to love and cherish,
and appealed to her parents, Uranus and Gaea, for counsel and assistance. By
their advice she wrapped a stone in baby-clothes, and Cronus, in eager
haste, swallowed it, without noticing the deception. The child thus saved,
eventually, as we shall see, dethroned his father Cronus, became supreme
god in his stead, and was universally venerated as the great national god
of the Greeks.

[Illustration]

Anxious to preserve the secret of his existence from Cronus, Rhea sent the
infant Zeus secretly to Crete, where he was nourished, protected, and
educated. A sacred goat, called Amalthea, supplied the place of his mother,
by providing him with milk; nymphs, called Melissae, fed him with honey,
and eagles and doves brought him nectar and ambrosia.[4] He was kept
concealed in a cave in the heart of Mount Ida, and the Curetes, or priests
of Rhea, by beating their shields together, kept up a constant noise at the
entrance, which drowned the cries of the child and frightened away all
intruders. Under the watchful care of the Nymphs the infant Zeus throve
rapidly, developing great physical powers, combined with {16} extraordinary
wisdom and intelligence. Grown to manhood, he determined to compel his
father to restore his brothers and sisters to the light of day, and is said
to have been assisted in this difficult task by the goddess Metis, who
artfully persuaded Cronus to drink a potion, which caused him to give back
the children he had swallowed. The stone which had counterfeited Zeus was
placed at Delphi, where it was long exhibited as a sacred relic.

Cronus was so enraged at being circumvented that war between the father and
son became inevitable. The rival forces ranged themselves on two sepa