Rhea

Rhea is the Queen of the Titans and the daughter of Gaea and Ouranos. Rhea is the wife to the Titan Kronos and mother of the gods Hades, Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hera. Her Roman form is Ops.

History
Rhea was a Titaness born to Gaea and Ouranos. Kronos, Rhea's Titan brother and husband, castrated their father, Ouranos. After this, Kronos re-imprisoned the Hekatonkheires, the Gigantes, and the Cyclopes, and sent the monster Kampê to guard them. He and Rhea took the throne as King and Queen of the Titans. This time was called the Golden Age.

Kronos sired six children by Rhea in the exact order: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. However, he learned from Gaea that some day one of his own children would overthrow him as he had done to his own father. As a result, Kronos began to eat each of his children as soon as they were born in order to prevent the prophecy from becoming true.

Sickened by what Kronos had done, when Zeus was about to be born, Rhea devised a plan to save him so that Kronos would get his retribution for his acts against Ouranos and his own children. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete, handing Kronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he promptly swallowed. Rhea then hid Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete. He was brought there by his grandmother Gaea, and was raised by some nymphs there until he was old enough to take on his father.

Zeus forced his father Kronos to disgorge his siblings, by feeding him a concoction of mustard, in reverse order of swallowing: first the stone, which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, then the rest. In some versions, Zeus and Rhea concocted a potion and gave it to Kronos to make him to disgorge the babies or Zeus cut Kronos' stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Kronos: the Gigantes, the Hekatonkheires, and the Cyclopes, who gave him thunder and lightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaea. Zeus and his siblings, together with the Gigantes, Hekatonkheires, and Cyclopes overthrew Kronos and the other Titans.

After the first war, it's commonly said that Rhea made some demands to be kept as queen of the gods, and to have a throne on Mount Olympus. Zeus promptly refused all of her demands, and outraged she ran with her hounds to the woods close to Mt. Othrys. Beyond that, nothing is known.

Most often Rhea's symbol is a pair of lions, the ones that pulled her 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 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
It is unknown what happened to Rhea after the war, but it can be assumed, that like any immortal, she is still alive. She seems to have managed to keep out of her husband's Second War.

It appears that she keeps in touch with her children, and they have a mutual love. Chiron mentions her while talking about Zeus and Poseidon quarreling, as one of their usual arguments involved which one of them she liked better.

Abilities

 * She possesses the standard powers of a Titaness, however any additional abilities is unknown.

Trivia

 * 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, a species of flightless birds, is named after her.
 * Rhea is known as "The Mother of Gods."