In Greek mythology, Rhea was Zeus's mother and the daughter of Uranus and Gaia.
Rhea belonged to the Titans, the divine generation born to the primordial sky god Uranus and earth goddess Gaia. She married her brother Cronus, and together they became parents of several major gods, including Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.
Cronus feared a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him, so he swallowed each child at birth. Rhea saved Zeus by hiding him in Crete and giving Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead. Zeus later forced Cronus to release his siblings and led the younger gods in the war against the Titans.
Rhea is sometimes confused with Gaia, who was an earlier primordial earth deity, or with Hera, Zeus's sister and later wife. Her Roman counterpart was Ops.