Greek Pantheon
Rhea
- motherhood
Titan daughter of Gaia and Uranus. With Cronus, she is the mother of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus in Hesiod’s Theogony.
About Rhea
Hesiod’s Theogony names Rhea as a daughter of Gaia and Uranus. With Cronus she bears Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Cronus swallows the children to prevent a son from replacing him. Before Zeus is born, Rhea asks her parents to help conceal his birth. They send her to Crete, where Gaia receives Zeus to raise him. A stone wrapped in swaddling clothes is given to Cronus in the child’s place (Theogony 132–138; 453–491).
Family
Relationship sources
Theogony — Rhea parent of Zeus
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Theogony — Rhea parent of Hera
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Theogony — Rhea parent of Poseidon
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Theogony — Rhea parent of Hades
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Theogony — Rhea parent of Demeter
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Theogony — Rhea parent of Hestia
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Theogony — Gaia parent of Rhea
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 132–138
Theogony — Uranus parent of Rhea
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 132–138
Theogony — Cronus lover of Rhea
Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491
Rhea's family at a glance
- Who are Rhea's parents?
- The atlas's kinship records name 2 parents of Rhea: Gaia and Uranus. Ancient accounts do not always agree on divine parentage.
- Who are Rhea's children?
- Children of Rhea recorded in the atlas: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia.
- Who were Rhea's spouses and consorts?
- Spouses and consorts of Rhea recorded in the atlas: Cronus.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Hesiod, Theogony (editorial paraphrase)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
Family relationships come from the atlas's kinship records. Ancient sources often disagree on divine genealogy.
Genealogy
Family tree
Rhea's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.