Why Is Rhea Important In Greek Mythology

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Greek mythology is not only interesting, but it is also the foundation of allusion and character genesis in literature. Although, when we think of mythology we think of a collection of stories, there is a beginning to them. Rhea is identified with mother goddess Cybele from Asia Minor and is also known as Rhea Cybele and Magna, which means great mother.

In Greek mythology, Rhea is the mother of the gods, daughter of Uranus and Gaia. she is married to her brother Cronus and is the mother of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus (Encyclopedia Mythica).Cronus, jealous of the future power of his children and to secure his dominion, ate his own children but Rhea managed to rescue one son, Zeus. She hid him in the Dictean Cave in Crete and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in the clothes of the infant, which he swallowed. Thus Rhea succeeded in making him believe that he had killed all of his children. When Zeus reached maturity he overpowered and dethroned his father and made Cronus disgorge his siblings. Rhea is identified with mother goddess Cybele from Asia Minor and is also known as Rhea Cybele and Magna Mater ("great mother"). She was worshipped with orgiastic rites (Encyclopedia Mythica). …show more content…

She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan. She was responsible for the way things flow in the kingdom of Cronus.Rhea and Cronus had six children; Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera and Zeus. Cronus, afraid that he would be overthrown by his children just like he had done with his father, decided to swallow all of them. However, he was tricked by Rhea, who managed to save Zeus from his father. When Zeus grew up, he forced his father to disgorge his siblings and eventually overthrew him (Greek