What did Cronus do to his children after their birth?
Answer
Swallowed them
What did Cronus do to his children after their birth? Cronus swallowed them.
Cronus swallowed each of the children born to him and Rhea because he had been warned that one of his offspring would overthrow him. The prophecy echoed Cronus’s own rise to power: he had defeated and displaced his father, Uranus, and feared that history would repeat itself.
The children he swallowed were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. They were not killed; in the myth, they remained inside Cronus until Zeus forced him to release them. Some traditions say Zeus used an emetic supplied by Metis, while others emphasize Gaia’s advice and Zeus’s power.
Rhea saved her sixth child, Zeus, by secretly giving birth in Crete and presenting Cronus with a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Cronus swallowed the stone, believing it was the baby. Once grown, Zeus returned, freed his siblings, and led the Olympians in the Titanomachy against Cronus and the Titans.