Rhea

Rhea is the Titaness of Motherhood, as well as the Titan Queen of Mount Orthys. Rhea is the wife of the Titan King Kronos and mother of the Elder Olympian gods Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Her Roman form is Ops.

History
The Titans were the eldest of the three races born to Gaea the Earth and Ouranos the Sky, before the Hekatonkheires (Cottus, Gyges, and Briares) and the Elder Cyclopes (Arges, Brontes, and Steropes). All were detested by their father, but he detested the younger children so much (mainly for their ugliness) that he imprisoned them in the terrifying abyss of Tartarus, which was itself deep within the Earth. Enraged, Gaea told her remaining twelve children (including Rhea), the Titans, to avenge their brothers and overthrow their arrogant and sadistic father. Rhea seemed shocked at the prospect of murdering her own father (since she had not thought it possible to kill an immortal), and, along with her sisters Theia, Tethys, Themis, Phoebe, and Mnemosyne, refused to participate.

The Titaness of Motherhood
After Rhea's brother Kronos successfully murdered Ouranos (with some help from Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios), the young Titan proceeded to crown himself Titan King of Mount Orthys, and usher in an era of peace and prosperity for the Titans, which would later become known as the "Golden Age." As he had promised, the new Titan King granted Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios control of the four corners of the world, and released his Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire brothers from Tartarus. As for Rhea herself, she became the Titaness of Motherhood, and always helped her sisters deliver all of their children, and would often babysit. The Titaness came to love animals very much, though she favored lions, who pulled her golden chariot. Rhea was frequently very calm, and her presence alone was enough to calm everyone around her. As a result, Rhea's gentle and kind nature earned her the love of her entire family. Rhea would also frequently approach her wise and clairvoyant brother Koios with questions about the future.

Marriage to Kronos
However, Rhea was also the most beautiful Titaness of all, which quickly earned her the attention of Kronos himself. Since the Titan King feared his father's prediction that he would be overpowered by one of his own children, Kronos had initially vowed to stay a bachelor. However, after all eleven of Kronos' elder brothers and sisters got married (and gave birth to many Titanic children), they no longer visited him, not even during his weekly Sunday dinners. While they claimed to be too busy, Kronos knew that the actual reason was their secret fear of his might and infamous temper. While, as the Titan King of Mount Orthys, Kronos still relished all of the power and authority that he possessed, his new found loneliness, as well as his Titanic siblings' happy family lives, greatly depressed him. To make matters worse, Kronos began to fall deeply in love with Rhea. He seemed to believe that marrying her would improve his personality, and induce his siblings to fear him less, and visit him more often. In the end, Kronos invited Rhea to a romantic dinner on Mount Othrys, confessed his deep feelings for her, and proposed. To Kronos' great delight, Rhea accepted, and the newlyweds enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon together.

Birth of the Olympian Gods
A few weeks later, Rhea gave birth to their first child: a beautiful girl named Hestia. At first, Kronos seemed willing to be a good father, and not to resemble Ouranos. However, the Titan King suddenly realized that Hestia was not a Titaness, but rather, a more powerful and beautiful immortal (a goddess). Kronos, fearing that Hestia might one day overpower him, quickly swallowed her whole, to the horror of Rhea. Trying to cajole his beloved wife, Kronos would give her many gifts, and invite her to multiple magnificent dinners.

Rhea would give birth to two even more beautiful daughters (Demeter and Hera), as well as two even more handsome sons (Hades and Poseidon), all of whom were gods, not Titans. As before, Kronos feared that any one of them might one day overpower him, and swallowed all of them whole. Rhea pleaded with Kronos to spare their children but with no success, since even Kronos' great love for Rhea was not enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature.

A distraught Rhea soon heard the voice of Gaea, advising her to give birth to her final child (who would save his other siblings) on the island of Crete. Claiming that Koios, her clairvoyant brother advised her to do so, Rhea successfully departed for Crete. There, in a cave at the base of Mount Ida, Rhea gave birth to her sixth and final child. His name would be Zeus. Rhea gave her newborn son to the Nine Nymphs that attended his birth, and returned to Mount Orthys. She used a huge smooth boulder (given to her by Gaea) to deceive Kronos, by wrapping it up in swaddling clothes, and pretending that it was her final child. Kronos swallowed it without even looking (which gave him an intense stomachache), and was successfully deceived. Rhea would secretly visit Zeus on Crete, and helped the Nine Nymphs raise him.

Zeus Rescues His Siblings
When Zeus grew to adulthood, Rhea advised him to turn into a Titanic version of himself, and took him to Kronos on Mount Othrys. There, she introduced Zeus to him as a young Titan who wished to become his royal cup bearer. Kronos, very impressed by Zeus' excellent singling, dancing and joking skills, promptly hired him.

Shortly thereafter, Zeus encouraged the Titans to participate in drinking contests. As the Titan King of Mount Othrys, Kronos would always win, since he could not let his siblings or nephews overcome him in anything. Finally, the Titan King began trusting Zeus completely, which is exactly what the latter was waiting for.

One evening, when Kronos was dining together with his brothers and nephews, Zeus prepared a special set of drinks for them all. Zeus prepared nectar mixed with sleeping potion to Kronos' guests, while he prepared an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) for Kronos himself. As before, Zeus entertained them all with his great singing, dancing, and jokes. Near the end of the Titanic banquet, Zeus encouraged all of the Titans to have yet another drinking contest, and handed out the prepared goblets. As before, Kronos won the contest, but Zeus' emetic was so powerful, that it forced him to instantly disgorge all of the contents of his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder, then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All of them had been growing undigested in Kronos' stomach, being gods.

Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and all of them quickly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, Rhea happily reunited with her beloved children, tearfully embracing all of them individually. Shortly thereafter, all of her children accepted Zeus as their leader, and reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their tyrannical father. However, since they still had no weapons, Rhea advised them to release their Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire uncles (all of whom were excellent blacksmiths) from Tartarus, and her eldest son Hades agreed to lead them there.

The First Titanomachy
After returning from Tartarus with the freed Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, all six of Rhea's children quickly declared war against their father, as well as the other Titans. Shortly before the Titanomachy began, Rhea personally visited all of her Titanic nieces and nephews, and convinced all of them (except for General Atlas) to remain neutral in the upcoming conflict.

The resulting Titanomachy was utterly terrifying, and lasted for 11 long years. The Titans initially had the upper hand in their battles with the gods, since they were well armed, and much more experienced warriors. However, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons (Zeus' Master Bolt, Poseidon's Trident, and Hades' Helm of Darkness), as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed. During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Orthys, and finally overwhelmed the remaining Titans.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Titans were all chained up by the Elder Cyclopes, after which the Hekatonkheires forced them to kneel before Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Zeus proceeded to take his father's sharp Scythe, and slice Kronos into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for General Atlas, who was forced to hold up the Sky).

After the War
It is unknown what happened to Rhea after the First Titanomachy, but it can be assumed, that like any immortal, she is still alive. As before, Rhea has managed to keep out of the Second Titanomachy, which her slowly rising husband Kronos was intending to implement.

Most often Rhea's symbol is a pair of lions, the ones that pulled her golden celestial chariot, and were seen often, rampant, one on either side of the gateways through the walls to many cities in the ancient world. The one at Mycenae is most characteristic, with the lions placed on either side of a pillar that symbolizes the great Titaness.

The principal seat of her worship, which was always of a very riotous character, was in Crete. At her festivals, which took place at night, the wildest music of flutes, cymbals, and drums resounded, whilst joyful shouts and cries, accompanied by dancing and loud stamping of feet, filled the air.

The Lightning Thief
Apparently, Rhea still keeps in touch with all six of her children, and they all have a strong mutual love (even Hades). Chiron mentions her while talking about Zeus and Poseidon quarreling, as one of their usual arguments involved which one of them their mother Rhea loves more.

Appearance
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Rhea is described as the most beautiful Titaness of all, instantly attracting the attention of her brother Kronos. She has long black hair with silver tips, brilliant green eyes, and a smile "as bright as the sun." Rhea often travels in a golden chariot pulled by two huge and fierce lions. Rhea's certain aspects of her looks and personality were past on to her children:
 * Hestia inherited her warm, comforting personality and her wise traits. All in all, Hestia was described as being most similar to her mother.
 * Demeter inherited her love of animals.
 * Hera inherited her bright "sunny" smile, gorgeous beauty, and protective motherly instincts.
 * Hades inherited her long black hair and her tendency to hold long grudges (which she held against Kronos).
 * Poseidon inherited her brilliant green eyes.
 * Zeus inherited her attitude of low tolerance.

Personality
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Rhea is revealed to be very sweet and kind, which earns her the love of her entire family. Rhea was frequently very calm, and her presence alone was enough to calm everyone around her. Rhea loved animals very much, though she favored lions. As the Titaness of Motherhood, Rhea was also very motherly, with a great love for all of her children (even Hades). Hence, Rhea would always help her sisters deliver their children, and would often babysit. The personality of Rhea's eldest daughter Hestia is very similar to her own. Rhea was also able to convince nearly all of her Titan nephews and nieces (except for General Atlas) to remain neutral in the First Titanomachy.

Abilities
The full extent of Rhea's abilities is unknown, however, as a Elder Titaness, as well as the Titan Queen of Mount Othrys, and the mother of the Big Three, she is extremely powerful.
 * Motherhood: As the Titaness of Motherhood, Rhea is very skilled in delivering newborn babies and raising children, having personally delivered all of her sisters' children.
 * Rhea ultimately gave birth to the six Elder Olympian gods, who were more powerful and beautiful than the Titans.
 * Tongue of the Old Times fluency: According to Tyson in The Battle of the Labyrinth, this is the ancient language that Gaea spoke to the Titans, Elder Cyclops and Hekatonkheires before the birth of the Olympian gods. Hence, Rhea understands and speaks it perfectly.
 * Comfort and Ease: Rhea gives off a pleasant, protective, and comfortable aura when she walks by that brings everyone around her ease.

Trivia

 * Rhea's only appearance is in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, though she is mentioned in The Lighting Thief and The Mark of Athena.
 * A moon of Saturn is named after Rhea. It is the ninth-largest moon in the Solar System.
 * Rhea and her daughter, Hera, are anagrams of each other's names.
 * Rhea is the most beautiful Elder Titaness.
 * Rhea was the favorite daughter of Gaea, who advised her on how to save Zeus from Kronos.
 * Rhea was the only Titaness who's children were gods (a more powerful and beautiful race of immortals), not Titans. This was most likely due to her being the Titaness of Motherhood.
 * Rhea, a species of flightless birds, is named after her.
 * Rhea is known as "The Mother of Gods," since she is the mother of all six Elder Olympians.
 * Her son Poseidon is the only child to inherit Rhea's green eyes, which Percy Jackson later inherited as well.
 * She shares her name with Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus.