c. 700 bc: Boeotia
preemptive strike
rhea, being forced by Kronos, bore
Most brilliant offspring to him: hestia,
demeter, golden-slippered hera, strong
hades, who has his home beneath the earth,
The god whose heart is pitiless, and him
Who crashes loudly and who shakes the earth,
and thoughtful Zeus, father of gods and men,
Whose thunder makes the wide earth tremble. Then,
as each child issued from the holy womb
and lay upon its mother’s knees, each one
Was seized by mighty Kronos, and gulped down.
he had in mind that no proud son of heaven
should hold the royal rank among the gods
except himself. For he had learned from earth
and starry heaven, that his destiny
Was to be overcome, great though he was,
By one of his own sons, and through the plans
Of mighty Zeus. Therefore he never dropped
his guard, but lay in wait, and swallowed down
his children. rhea suffered endless grief;
But when she was about to bring forth Zeus,
Father of gods and men, she begged the earth
and starry heaven, her parents, to devise
