Rhea is the daughter of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus in Greek mythology. As the mother of the Olympian gods, she holds a crucial role in the pantheon of Greek deities. Often referred to as the 'mother of gods,' Rhea's domain encompasses fertility, motherhood, and generation, making her a matronly figure of immense power and reverence. Worshipped as a mother goddess, her cult often depicted her with symbols of fertility and nature. She was associated with the untamed aspects of the natural world.
Rhea, although not as prominently featured in myths as her children, represents the archetypal Earth Mother, a foundation upon which the myths and powers of the other deities are built. Her legacy in Greek culture is one of the nurturing force, a deity who protected and gave life to a new order of gods, ushering in an era of Olympian rule.
Married to her brother, the Titan Cronus, she bore several of the most powerful Olympian gods, including Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Her story is famously marked by her husband's fear of being overthrown by his children—a prophecy he sought to prevent by swallowing each of them at birth. Rhea, distressed by the loss of her offspring, devised a plan to save her youngest, Zeus. She tricked Cronus by giving him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow instead, hiding Zeus away until he was grown. Eventually, Zeus challenged Cronus, forcing him to regurgitate his siblings, leading to the Titanomachy—a great war between the Titan and Olympian gods. Rhea's cunning and maternal defiance were instrumental in shifting the balance of power to the Olympians, thereby shaping the pantheon that would dominate Greek mythology.
The tree on her skirt is a representation of the genealogical tree of the Titans and Olympians, with Rhea as the root from which the divine lineage sprouts. These symbols include Zeus' lightning bolt, Hades' helm, Poseidon's trident, Hera's peacock feather, Demeter's wheat, and Hestia's flame. This imagery underscores her role as the progenitor of the pantheon, nurturing and giving life to the deities that shape the world, with her at the root of it all.