In Greek religion, a male agricultural deity. He was the youngest of the 12 Titans borne by Uranus and Gaea, and his castration of his father separated heaven from earth. With his sister and consort Rhea, he fathered Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, all of whom he swallowed because he had been warned that he would be overthrown by his own child. Rhea hid his son Zeus and tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone; Zeus later forced Cronus to disgorge the others and then vanquished him in war. He was identified with the Roman god Saturn.
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