Cronus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Cronus

144 passages from 23 ancient authors that tell of Cronus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Cronus castrated his father Uranus to seize power, then was overthrown by his son Zeus in the Titanomachy. Read his full story, family tree, and fate. For the story in one place, read our article on Cronus.

Hesiod (12)

Hesiod, Theogony 450–479Rhea and Cronus; the birth of Zeus (450-479)Hecate is made a nurse of the young. Rhea bears Cronus Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, and Cronus swallows each child as it is born, because Gaia and Uranus have told him his own son will overcome him. When she is about to bear Zeus, Rhea asks her parents for a plan, and they send her to Lyctus in Crete, where Gaia receives the child.
Hesiod, Works and Days 105–199The five ages of men (105-199)Hesiod tells how gods and mortals came from one source and describes the races of men: a golden race that lived at ease in the time of Cronos, a foolish silver race that would not honour the gods, a violent bronze race that destroyed itself, and the god-like race of heroes, some of whom died at Thebes and Troy while others live on the islands of the blessed. He laments that he lives in the fifth, iron race, and foretells that it will be destroyed when children are born grey-haired, kin are at odds and might is right.
Hesiod, Theogony 615–649Zeus releases the Hundred-Handers (615-649)Zeus and the gods, at Gaia's advice, bring the Hundred-Handers, Obriareus, Cottus and Gyes, up from the gloom beneath the earth where their father Uranus had bound them. The ten-year war between the Titans on Othrys and the gods on Olympus is evenly balanced, and Zeus feeds the three nectar and ambrosia and asks them to stand with the younger gods against the Titans.
Hesiod, Theogony 130–174Gaia and Uranus: the Titans, Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers (130-174)Gaia bears Pontus, the sea, and then lies with Uranus and bears the twelve Titans, among them Oceanus and Cronus, followed by the three Cyclopes and the three Hundred-Handers. Uranus hates his children and hides them in Gaia's depths, so she groans, plots against him and makes a sickle of grey flint. Only Cronus has the courage to answer her, and she sets him in ambush with the sickle.
Hesiod, Works and Days 200–269The hawk and the nightingale; justice in the city (200-269)Aidos and Nemesis will leave mankind, and Hesiod tells the fable of the hawk and the nightingale as a warning to princes. He urges Perses to follow Justice and avoid violence, since a city of just men prospers in peace, while for one bad man Zeus may send famine, plague or ruin on a whole city. Zeus has thrice ten thousand spirits watching over judgements, and virgin Justice reports crooked rulers to her father.
Hesiod, Theogony 480–504Zeus hidden in Crete; Cronus vomits up his children (480-504)Gaia takes the infant Zeus to a hidden cave on Mount Aegeum and gives Cronus a great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he swallows. When Zeus is grown, Gaia's counsel tricks Cronus into vomiting up his children, the stone first, which Zeus sets up at Pytho. Zeus also frees his father's brothers, the Cyclopes, who give him thunder and the lightning bolt.
Hesiod, Theogony 1–34The Muses of Helicon and Hesiod's calling (1-34)Hesiod opens by hailing the Muses who dance on Mount Helicon and bathe in its springs, and lists the gods they praise as they go abroad by night. While he is shepherding his lambs beneath Helicon, they address him harshly, saying they know how to speak many falsehoods as well as truths. They give him a laurel staff and a divine voice so that he can sing of things to come and things past, and the race of the blessed gods.
Hesiod, Theogony 60–99The Muses on Olympus and their gifts to kings and singers (60-99)The Muses have their dancing places and fair homes on Olympus beside the Graces and Himerus, and they sing the laws of the gods and Zeus's overthrow of Cronus. The nine are named, with Calliope the chief because she attends on princes. Kings favoured by the Muses speak with persuasive words and settle quarrels fairly, and singers who serve the Muses make a sorrowing man forget his troubles.
Hesiod, Theogony 405–449Leto, Asteria and Hecate (405-449)Phoebe and Coeus have Leto and Asteria, and Asteria's daughter is Hecate. The long praise of Hecate describes how Zeus honoured her beyond all other gods, leaving her a share of earth, sea and starry heaven, and how she helps those she favours in the assembly, in war, in the games, at sea and in the herds.
Hesiod, Theogony 650–699The Titanomachy: Zeus's thunderbolts (650-699)Cottus answers for the Hundred-Handers and the war begins, the sea, earth and heaven shaking at the clash. Then Zeus holds back his might no longer and comes from Olympus hurling lightning and thunderbolts, so that the earth burns, the sea and Ocean seethe, and the Titans are blinded by the glare.
Hesiod, Works and Days 40–104Prometheus, fire and Pandora (40-104)The gods keep the means of life hidden from men, and Zeus hides fire because Prometheus deceived him; Prometheus steals it back in a fennel-stalk. As the price for fire Zeus has Hephaestus mould a maiden, whom Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes and the Graces equip with skills, charm and a deceitful nature. She is named Pandora and sent to Epimetheus, who accepts her despite Prometheus's warning, and she lifts the lid of the jar and scatters evils among men, while Hope alone stays inside.
Hesiod, Theogony 175–209Cronus castrates Uranus; the birth of Aphrodite (175-209)Uranus comes to lie with Gaia, and Cronus, waiting in ambush, cuts off his father's genitals with the sickle. From the drops of blood come the Erinyes, the Giants and the ash-tree nymphs, and from the foam round the severed flesh Aphrodite rises and is carried to Cythera and Cyprus, with Eros and Desire as her companions. Uranus calls his sons Titans, because they strained and acted presumptuously.

Homer (38)

Homer, Iliad 1.493–611Thetis begs Zeus; the quarrel of Zeus and HeraAfter twelve days the gods return to Olympus, and Thetis goes up to clasp the knees of Zeus and ask him to honour her son by giving the Trojans the upper hand. Zeus is troubled because it will anger Hera, but he bows his head in assent. Hera upbraids him for plotting in secret and he threatens her, until Hephaestus calms the gods by pouring wine, and they feast and sleep.
Homer, Iliad 8.350–484Zeus turns back Hera and AthenaHera and Athena set out to help the Achaeans, but Zeus sends Iris to turn them back with the threat of lamed horses and a shattered car. Zeus returns to Olympus and tells the two goddesses that at dawn he will destroy more of the Argives and that Hector will not stop fighting until Achilles rises at the ships over the body of Patroclus. Hera refuses to be rebuked and says that she will not oppose him.
Homer, Iliad 14.224–360Hera and Sleep: the deception of Zeus on IdaHera goes to Lemnos and asks Sleep to lull Zeus once she has lain with him, promising him the young Grace Pasithea as his wife. They go to Ida, where Sleep perches in a fir-tree in the likeness of a bird, and Hera approaches Zeus, who is seized with desire for her. He persuades her to lie with him at once, hiding them in a golden cloud, and Sleep binds him, then goes to tell Poseidon to help the Danaans while Zeus sleeps.
Homer, Homerica 5.23–28Frogs and Mice: the battleLoud-croaker wounds Lickman and the warriors fall on both sides, until Slice-snatcher routs the Frogs. Zeus asks Athena and Ares to help, Hera says that they cannot save the Frogs, and he casts a thunderbolt. Crabs with curving claws then come to the Frogs' help and put the Mice to flight before sunset.
Homer, Iliad 21.136–232Achilles and Asteropaeus; the river risesThe river-god is angered at the bodies that choke his stream and tells Achilles to stop, but Achilles will not. He kills Asteropaeus, a grandson of the river, after a fight in which Asteropaeus casts both spears at once, and drives the Paeonians before him. The river rises against him, and Achilles is swept off his feet and cries out to Zeus.
Homer, Odyssey 24.412–548The kinsmen of the suitors; peace restoredRumour carries the news of the slaughter through the city, and the kinsmen of the suitors take up their bodies and gather in the market-place, where Eupeithes, the father of Antinous, calls for revenge. Odysseus and his men arm and go out to meet them. Laertes kills Eupeithes with a spear, and Athena, in the likeness of Mentor, calls off the fighting, and a covenant is made between the two sides.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 2.1–86Hymn 2 to Demeter (1): the abduction of PersephonePersephone is gathering flowers in a meadow when the earth opens and Hades seizes her and carries her away in his chariot. Her mother Demeter hears her cry, searches the earth for nine days with torches, and learns the truth from Hecate and from Helios, who tells her that Zeus gave Persephone to Hades.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 2.395–495Hymn 2 to Demeter (5): reunion and the MysteriesPersephone tells her mother how she was seized and made to taste the seed, and mother and daughter spend the day in joy. Rhea brings Zeus's message, and Demeter agrees that Persephone will spend a third of the year below and the rest with the gods. Demeter makes the fields fruitful again and teaches her rites to the leaders of Eleusis, and the hymn closes with a blessing on those who have seen them.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 4.210–339Hymn 4 to Hermes (3): Apollo finds the thiefApollo reads a bird omen and follows the trail to the cave at Cyllene. He threatens the infant, who denies everything and answers with an omen of his own, and Apollo carries him up to Olympus to stand before Zeus.
Homer, Iliad 2.102–210Agamemnon tests the armyAt the assembly Agamemnon holds the sceptre of Zeus and tells the Achaeans that Zeus has deceived him and that they must flee home, though he means to try them. The army surges toward the ships like waves, and the ships are already being dragged down when Hera sends Athena to Odysseus. He takes Agamemnon's sceptre, checks the chiefs and sends the men back to the assembly.
Homer, Iliad 2.278–393The omen of the sparrows; Nestor's counselOdysseus reminds the army of the omen at Aulis, where a serpent devoured eight sparrow chicks and their mother and was then turned to stone, which Calchas read as a sign that Troy would fall in the tenth year. Nestor rebukes the men for forgetting their oaths and tells Agamemnon to marshal them by tribes and clans. Agamemnon agrees, wishes he had ten counsellors like Nestor, and tells the men to eat and sharpen their weapons for battle.
Homer, Iliad 4.1–72The gods in council on OlympusOn Olympus the gods sit in council while Zeus provokes Hera by remarking that Menelaus has two goddesses to help him, Hera and Athena, who merely look on, while Aphrodite keeps his rival safe. Hera answers angrily that her labour against Priam must not be in vain, and Zeus tells her to do as she pleases, asking only that she not hinder him when he destroys a city dear to her. Hera names Argos, Sparta and Mycenae, and Zeus sends Athena down to make the Trojans break the truce.

26 more passages of Homer that name Cronus

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.1.1–7Uranus, the Titans and the birth of ZeusSky (Uranus) and Earth have the Hundred-handers, the Cyclopes and the Titans, and Sky casts the Cyclopes into Tartarus. At Earth's urging the Titans attack their father, and Cronus mutilates him with an adamantine sickle, so that the Furies are born from the blood. Cronus takes the sovereignty, binds his brothers again, marries Rhea and swallows his children at birth, until Rhea hides the infant Zeus in a cave in Crete among the Curetes and nymphs and gives Cronus a stone to swallow.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.2.1–7Zeus and the Titanomachy; the children of the TitansZeus takes Metis as his ally, and she gives Cronus a drug that makes him disgorge the stone and his swallowed children. In the ten-year war the gods win once Zeus frees the prisoners in Tartarus and the Cyclopes give him thunder and lightning, Pluto a helmet and Poseidon a trident; the Titans are shut in Tartarus and the three brothers draw lots for sky, sea and the underworld. The rest of the section lists the offspring of the Titans, of Styx, and of Sea and Earth, ending with the Nereids.

Pindar (12)

Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.1–115Pythian 3: for Hieron — Asclepius and CoronisPindar wishes that Cheiron were alive to heal Hieron as he once healed others through his pupil Asclepius. He tells how Coronis, carrying Apollo's child, took another lover and was killed, and how Apollo rescued the child from the pyre and gave him to Cheiron to learn healing. Asclepius, tempted by gold to raise a dead man, was struck down by Zeus; the ode ends with the sorrows of Peleus and Cadmus as proof that no man has unmixed happiness.
Pindar, Pythian Odes 4.1–142Pythian 4: for Arcesilas — Medea's prophecy and Jason at IolcusPindar honours Arcesilas, king of Cyrene and victor in the chariot race, and recalls the word that Medea spoke at Thera, that her companions' descendants would colonise Libya, so that Arcesilas is eighth in the line from Battus. He then turns to Jason, who arrives at Iolcus wearing one sandal and astonishes the crowd in the market-place, and who says that he has come to recover his father's honour. His kinsmen Pheres, Amythaon, Admetus and Melampus gather to him, and he leads them to the hall of Pelias and begins his appeal to the king.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 1.1–116Olympian 1: for Hieron — Pelops and TantalusPindar opens with the praise of water and gold and of the Olympic games as the greatest of contests, and hails Hieron of Syracuse, victor with the horse Pherenicus. He rejects the tale that the gods ate the flesh of Pelops, and tells instead how Poseidon, in love, carried the boy off to Olympus after the banquet of Tantalus, and how Tantalus is punished for stealing nectar and ambrosia with a rock hanging over his head. Pelops later prays to Poseidon, overcomes Oenomaüs in the chariot race and wins Hippodameia. The ode ends with a prayer that Hieron keep his greatness and that Pindar be the foremost poet among Hellenes.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 2.1–100Olympian 2: for Theron — the house of Cadmus and the Isles of the BlestPindar praises Theron of Acragas, victor in the chariot race, and prays that time may heal the sorrows of his house. He recalls the house of Cadmus, with Laïus, Oedipus, the Fury that made his sons kill one another, and Polyneices' son Thersander. He then describes the afterlife, in which the wicked are punished and the good go to the Isles of the Blest, where Rhadamanthys judges and Peleus, Cadmus and Achilles dwell, and he ends by answering envy with the praise of Theron's generosity.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 5.1–24Olympian 5: for Psaumis — CamarinaPindar greets Camarina, daughter of Ocean, and the mule-car victory of Psaumis, who has raised her new city and honoured the gods with sacrifices and contests at Olympia. He praises Pallas, the river Oanis, the lake and the streams of the Hipparis, and calls on Zeus, lord of the hill of Cronus, as a suppliant. He ends by saying that a man who spends his wealth well should not seek to become a god.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 6.1–105Olympian 6: for Hagesias — Iamus, son of ApolloPindar likens the opening of his ode to the building of a hall on golden pillars and praises Hagesias of Syracuse, an Iamid and victor with the mule-car, recalling Adrastus' lament for Amphiaraüs. He tells how Euadne, loved by Apollo, hid her child Iamus among the violets, where bees' honey fed him, and how Apollo later gave him the gift of prophecy and an oracle at Olympia. He closes by sending Aeneas to praise Hera and Stymphalus, and with a prayer to Poseidon.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 8.1–88Olympian 8: for Alcimedon — Aeacus and the walls of TroyPindar hails Olympia and praises Alcimedon of Aegina, boys' wrestling victor, and the justice of Aegina. He tells how Aeacus helped Poseidon and Apollo to build the wall of Troy: three serpents leapt at it and the one that entered it foretold the fall of Troy at the hands of Aeacus' descendants. The ode ends with Alcimedon's family, his father Iphion and his dead kinsmen.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 9.1–112Olympian 9: for Epharmostus — Deucalion and OpusPindar praises Epharmostus of Opus, wrestling victor, and Opus, mother-city of the Locrians, and begs his lips to speak no ill of the gods, recalling Heracles' battles with Poseidon, Phoebus and Hades at Pylos. He tells how Deucalion and Pyrrha made a people from stones, and how Zeus took the daughter of Opus of Elis to Locrus, who named her son Opus after her father. The ode ends with Epharmostus' other victories and a tribute to his skill.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 10.1–105Olympian 10: for Hagesidamus — Heracles and the first Olympic gamesPindar owes Hagesidamus of Locri a song for his boxing victory and praises the Western Locrians and the trainer Ilas, whom he likens to Achilles beside Patroclus. He tells how Heracles killed the Molionidae and punished Augeas, then founded the Olympic games beside the tomb of Pelops, with altars to the gods and the naming of the hill of Cronus. He lists the first winners and compares the victor to Ganymede.
Pindar, Pythian Odes 2.1–96Pythian 2: for Hieron — IxionPindar praises Syracuse and Hieron, victor in the chariot race, and recalls that Cinyras of Cyprus is honoured in song. He tells how Ixion, whom the gods had welcomed, tried to seduce Hera and was bound to a wheel; Zeus made a cloud in her likeness, and from it the Centaurs were born. The poet then warns against slanderers and flatterers, says that one must not fight against god, and prays to please the noble.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 1.1–72Nemean 1: for Chromius — Ortygia and the infant HeraclesPindar greets Ortygia, the cradle of Syracuse, and praises Chromius of Aetna, victor with the chariot, for his wealth and hospitality, recalling Zeus' gift of Sicily to Persephone. He tells how the infant Heracles strangled the two serpents sent by Hera, while Amphitryon and the Cadmeans hastened in, and how Teiresias foretold his labours against monsters and giants and his marriage to Hebe.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 9.1–55Nemean 9: for Chromius — Adrastus and the SevenPindar leads the Muses from Sicyon to the new city of Aetna to praise Chromius, victor in the chariot race. He tells how Adrastus, who had fled Argos, founded contests for Apollo at Sicyon, and how Zeus swallowed Amphiaraüs and his chariot in the earth at Thebes. He ends by praising Chromius' courage in battle at the river Helorus and his wealth.

Aeschylus (1)

Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 196–278First episode: why Zeus punishes PrometheusAt the Chorus's request Prometheus tells his story. He says that when Zeus rebelled against Cronus he advised the Titans, and when they refused he went over to Zeus, whose new rule then threw the Titans into Tartarus. Zeus wished to destroy mankind and Prometheus saved them by giving them blind hopes and fire. The Chorus warn him that he has done wrong, and he answers that those who are not in trouble find it easy to give advice.

Apollonius Rhodius (2)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.1030–1225The birds of Ares and the sons of PhrixusNear the island of Ares the heroes scare off the birds that shoot their feathers like arrows, by wearing helmets and clashing shields. On the island they find the four shipwrecked sons of Phrixus, who are Jason's kinsmen, and who tell them of Aeetes and the sleepless serpent. Argus agrees to guide the Argonauts to Colchis.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.1226–1285Argo reaches the river PhasisArgo passes the island of Philyra and the coast of the Macrones and Becheiri. At evening the heroes see Prometheus on the Caucasus and the eagle that feeds on him, and they reach the broad river Phasis, where they lower the sails, row into the stream and moor the ship in a shady backwater.

Callimachus (2)

Callimachus, Hymns 1.1–96Hymn to ZeusThe poet asks where Zeus was born, on Ida in Crete or in Arcadia, and calls the Cretans liars for building his tomb. He tells how Rhea bore Zeus in Parrhasia and washed in a spring she struck from the mountain, how the nymph Neda carried him to Crete and how the Dictaean Meliae and Adrasteia reared him on the milk of the goat Amaltheia. The hymn praises Zeus as the god who took kings for his portion, and ends with a prayer for goodness and prosperity.
Callimachus, Hymns 5.1–142Hymn to Athena: the Bath of Pallas and TeiresiasThe women of Argos are summoned to the Bath of Pallas and told to bring no perfume or mirror, only plain olive oil, as Athena herself used. The poet tells how Teiresias, son of Everes, unwittingly saw Athena bathing with his mother Chariclo at the Fountain of the Horse on Helicon and was blinded. Athena tells Chariclo that this is the law of Cronus, foretells the fate of Actaeon, and promises to make Teiresias a seer who knows the birds, has a staff to guide him and keeps his understanding among the dead. The hymn closes with greetings as the goddess arrives and a prayer for Argos.

Theocritus (1)

Theocritus, Idylls 17.1–137Idyll 17: In praise of PtolemyThe poem begins with Zeus and passes to Ptolemy son of Lagus, whom it praises as foremost among men, and to his mother Berenice. It tells of his birth on the isle of Cos, of the lands he rules and the wealth of Egypt, and of the temples he has built for his parents. It ends with his marriage to his sister, likened to the bridal of Zeus and Hera.

Diodorus Siculus (4)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.64.1–5.67.5Early Crete: the Dactyls, the Curetes and the TitansThe Cretans claim that the Eteocretans were native to the island, and that the Idaean Dactyls discovered fire and the working of metals. They tell of the Curetes and of the Titans near Cnosus under Cronus' rule, whose age is described with lines of Hesiod, and of Hyperion's observation of the heavens.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.68.1–5.72.5Zeus and the children of Cronus in CreteAccording to the Cretans the children of Cronus and Rhea discovered or introduced many arts, and the sea, the hearth and the corn belong to Poseidon, Hestia and Demeter. The historian gives the conflicting accounts of how Zeus became king, the places in Crete tied to his infancy, his benefactions to mankind and the punishment of the Giants.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 6.1.1–11Euhemerus on the godsIn a fragment on the gods the historian is quoted as dividing them into eternal ones, such as the sun and moon and stars, and terrestrial ones, such as Heracles and Dionysus, who were honoured as gods for their benefactions. He then summarises the account of Euhemerus, who sailed from Arabia to the island of Panchaea, where a golden stele recorded the deeds of Uranus, Cronus and Zeus as kings.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.76.1–4.80.6Daedalus, Minos in Sicily and the Mothers at EngyumDaedalus, an Athenian craftsman who invents the saw and the potter's wheel, flees to a deme of Attica after the death of his nephew, then to Crete, where he makes the contrivance for Pasiphae, and then escapes to Sicily; Icarus falls into the sea. Minos pursues him to Sicily and dies at the court of Cocalus. The section ends with the cult of the Mothers at Engyum and the great temple the townspeople built for them.

Ovid (4)

Ovid, Fasti 1.171–288Fasti 1: Janus on New Year gifts, the old coins and his templeOvid asks Janus why he is honoured first and why New Year brings sweet gifts and coins. Janus answers with omens and complains of the love of money, then explains the ship and two-headed figure on old copper coins, tied to the arrival of Cronus (Saturn) in Latium. He tells how he drove back the Sabine Tatius with water, and why his gates stand open in war.
Ovid, Fasti 4.179–246Fasti 4: The Megalesia: Cybele and AttisOvid announces the coming Megalesia, and the Muse Erato answers his questions. She explains the din of drums and cymbals by the tale of Cronus (Saturn), the stone and the infant Zeus (Jupiter) on Ida, then the lions and turreted crown, and the story of Attis, who broke his vow, went mad and mutilated himself.
Ovid, Fasti 6.1–64Fasti 6: Hera (Juno) claims the month of JuneOvid, musing in a grove, sees goddesses, among them Hera (Juno), who tells him June is named for her. She cites her descent from Cronus (Saturn), her marriage to Zeus (Jupiter), her temples and her care for Rome. She also points to months named June in neighbouring towns such as Aricia, Lanuvium and Tibur.
Ovid, Fasti 6.249–316Fasti 6: The Vestalia: Hestia (Vesta) and her round templeOn 9 June Ovid begins the Vestalia, saying he felt Hestia (Vesta) but did not see her. He describes Numa's temple and its round shape, Vesta as the same as Earth, her virgin priestesses as daughter of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea (Ops), the lack of any statue, and the bakers' rites with garlanded asses and millstones.

Pausanias (6)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.7.1–10Olympia: the Alpheus and Arethusa, and the Idaean Hercules’ first gamesAt Olympia Pausanias describes the Alpheus and its seven tributaries, the story of the river’s love for Arethusa and its flow beneath the sea, supported by a Delphic oracle, with parallels from the Nile, the Jordan and Mycale. He then gives the Elean account of the first Olympic games, held by the Idaean Dactyls, among whom Hercules crowned the winner with wild olive and fixed a four-year cycle.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.36.1–10Methydrium, Mount Maenalus and the road to the MistressPausanias describes Methydrium, named for its position between two rivers, with a temple of Horse Poseidon and Mount Thaumasius, where the Methydrians place Rhea's deceit of Cronus. Leaving Megalopolis by the Gate to the Marsh he lists the temple of the Good God, the grave of Aristodemus, the sanctuary of Athena the Contriver, the precinct of the North Wind and the grove of Demeter in the Marsh. He then covers Mount Maenalus, sacred to Pan, and the Meetings of Three Ways, and the road to Macareae, Daseae and the Acacesian Hill.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.24.1–7Delphi: the maxims of the Sages, Homer's oracle, the temple interior and Neoptolemus' gravePausanias describes the maxims inscribed by the Seven Sages in the fore-temple at Delphi, the bronze likeness of Homer and the oracle said to have been given to him, with the rival claims of Ios and Cyprus to his birth. He notes the altar of Poseidon, the images of the Fates, the hearth where Neoptolemus was killed and the iron chair of Pindar. Outside he describes the grave of Neoptolemus, the small stone given to Cronus and the spring Cassotis.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.8.1–12Mantinea: Rhea's lamb spring and the history of the cityPausanias describes the sanctuary of Demeter near Nestane and the spring Arne, where Rhea is said to have hidden the infant Poseidon among lambs, and states that he treats such Greek stories as riddles of old wisdom. He tells how Antinoe moved the people of Mantinea to the new site behind a snake, and how Agesipolis took the city by diverting the river Ophis against its brick walls. The section follows the city's later alliances, its renaming Antigonea after Antigonus, its support for Augustus at Actium and Hadrian's restoration of the name Mantinea.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.39.1–14Lebadea: the grove of Trophonius and the procedure of the oraclePausanias describes Lebadea, called Midea in antiquity, the river Hercyna and the grove of Trophonius with its temple, the image by Praxiteles and the sanctuaries of Demeter Europa and Zeus. He gives the full procedure of consulting the oracle: the days of purification, the sacrifices, the drinking of the waters of Forgetfulness and Memory, and the descent into the chasm, from which the consultant is carried out and questioned on the chair of Memory. He says he consulted Trophonius himself.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.41.1–7Chaeronea: the sceptre as the only work of Hephaestus, Amathus' necklace and unguentsPausanias argues that the sceptre of Agamemnon is the only genuine work of Hephaestus, setting aside the Lycian bowl and the chest of Eurypylus. He considers the necklace of Harmonia at Amathus, concluding from Homer's description that it is not the golden necklace of Eriphyle. He ends with Mount Petrachus above Chaeronea, where Cronus was said to be deceived with a stone, and with the unguents the city distils from lilies, roses, narcissus and iris.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (1)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.94–182Memnon comes to TroyMemnon arrives with a host of Aethiopians and is welcomed by Priam, who pledges him in the golden cup that Hephaestus made and that passed down through the kings of Troy. Memnon goes to his rest. On Olympus Zeus tells the gods that tomorrow's battle will cost many lives and that none of them may intervene.

Nonnus of Panopolis (13)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 12.0–92Book 12: The Seasons read the tablets of FateThe Seasons reach the house of Helios, and Autumn asks him when the vine will grow. He sends her to the tablets of Harmonia, on which Phanes had written the oracles of the world. She reads the stories of Cronos and the flood, and then of men and women who are to be changed into birds, stones and springs.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 18.196–267Book 18: Dionysos arms; Staphylos' gifts and the tale of CampeDionysos puts on his armour and Staphylos gives him guest-gifts of a golden jar, silver cups and embroidered robes. The king urges him to fight like his father Zeus and tells how Zeus destroyed the monster Campe, with her many animal heads, serpent limbs and scorpion tail, in the war against Cronos and the Titans.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 41.338–427Book 41: The tablets of Ophion; Aphrodite urges Eros to strike the godsHarmonia shows Aphrodite seven planetary tablets of fate, and that of Cronos declares Beroe the first city, later to be called Berytos by the Romans. Another tablet foretells the inventions of music, calendars, letters and law, and a third says that under Augustus Berytos will give the world its law. Aphrodite then coaxes Eros to shoot Poseidon and Dionysos for his sister's sake, promising him Harmonia's golden harp.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 28.257–330Book 28: Halimedes and the Corybants join the fightMore allies enter the battle: the Cyclops Halimedes, whose roar kills twelve men, and the Corybants, who fight in a war dance round Deriades' car like the dance that once hid the infant Zeus from Cronos. Morrheus' stone misses the Corybant Melisseus, and the din of the fight reaches Olympos.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 2.241–390Book 2: Typhon's boast and the first assault on ZeusTyphoeus wakes shouting threats: he will overturn the heavens, bring up Cronos and the Titans, and take Hera for his bride. Zeus laughs, and the battle opens with the Giant hurling trees and rocks against the thunderbolt.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 2.475–630Book 2: Zeus overwhelms Typhon; the mock epitaphZeus and Typhoeus fight on equal terms, with thunder and lightning against the Giant's many hands, and the four winds join in. His heads are scorched and frozen in turn, and his mother Earth begs Helios and the winter winds to ease him. Typhoeus falls, and Zeus mocks him with a speech about the throne he wanted and offers him an empty tomb and an epitaph.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 18.268–368Book 18: Staphylos' exhortation; Dionysos returns to a house in mourningStaphylos goes on to compare Dionysos with Zeus, Ares and Perseus as slayers of monsters and urges him to destroy Deriades. Dionysos sends the herald Pherespondos to offer Deriades peace or war. On his return he finds that Staphylos has died, reads the news in the faces of Methe, Botrys and Pithos, and speaks to the mourning household.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 21.240–345Book 21: Deriades' answer; Dionysos returns; the ambush at the HydaspesDeriades rejects the offer, saying that he honours only Earth and Water, and sends the envoy back with a written challenge. Dionysos, restored to his followers, learns from Proteus what has happened in Arabia, reads the tablet and orders ships built for an attack by sea. Deriades divides his army across the river Hydaspes and hides an ambush in a thick wood.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 24.179–241Book 24: Lament in the Indian city; the feast and the request for a songThe Indian city is filled with lamentation, and a wife near her time laments her drowned husband. In the forest Dionysos and his army feast, and the singer Leucos sings of Zeus' victory over Cronos. Lapethos then asks him to sing of the weaving-match of Athena and Aphrodite.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 31.199–282Book 31: Hera borrows the cestus of AphroditeHera visits Aphrodite on Lebanon and, in answer to her questions, pretends to fear that Semele, Dionysos and the vine will drive her out of Olympos. She then asks to borrow Aphrodite's cestus for a day, to charm Zeus and help the Indians, who she says have always honoured Aphrodite.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 40.366–492Book 40: Dionysos hymns Heracles, god of the Tyrian templeDionysos prays to the Starclad Heracles in his temple, praising him as the sun and the lord of the universe under many names. The god appears, entertains him at table, and Dionysos asks who built the city. Heracles begins the story of the earthborn first men, who were told by his oracle to build the first ship and sail to the wandering Ambrosial Rocks.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 8.122–177Book 8: Hera borrows the girdle of DeceitHera flatters Deceit and asks for the girdle with which Rheia once deceived Cronos. She complains that a mortal woman has taken her husband and threatens to leave heaven. Deceit gives her the girdle, saying it will charm Zeus and bring Ares home.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 25.481–572Book 25: Damasen kills the dragon; the flower of Zeus restores TylosThe nymph Moria asks the giant Damasen to avenge her brother Tylos, and he kills the serpent with an uprooted tree. The serpent's mate revives it with the flower of Zeus, and Moria uses the same flower to bring Tylos back to life. The last scene on the shield shows Rheia giving Cronos a stone to swallow, and night falls on the camp.

[Eratosthenes] (1)

[Eratosthenes], Catasterismi (Constellation Myths) 39–41The Altar, the Centaur and the Water-Snake with the Cup and the RavenThe Altar is where the gods swore their oath before the war against Cronus, and the Centaur is Cheiron, who died when Heracles's arrow fell on his foot. The Water-Snake, Cup and Raven commemorate the raven that delayed for figs and lied about the snake.

Antoninus Liberalis (1)

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 34.1–36.3Smyrna, the Herdsmen and PandareusSmyrna tricks her father Thias into incest, becomes the myrrh tree and gives birth to Adonis. Lycian herdsmen who drive Leto from a spring are turned into frogs. Pandareus steals the golden dog that guarded the goat of Zeus and becomes a rock, and Tantalus, who denies having it, is cast down under Sipylus.

Bacchylides (1)

Bacchylides, Dithyrambs 17.1–132Dithyramb 17: Theseus and MinosA ship bears Theseus and fourteen Athenian youths and maidens to Crete, where Minos lays a hand on a maiden and Theseus rebukes him. Minos asks Zeus for a sign and challenges Theseus to bring back his gold ring from the sea. Theseus dives, is carried by dolphins to the hall of his father Poseidon and robed by Amphitrite, and comes back unwetted to the ship while the Athenians sing a paean.

Hyginus (6)

Hyginus, Fabulae 138–154The gods of the early world: Titans, Prometheus, Typhon and the floodChiron's birth, the childhood of Zeus, Python, Persephone, Triptolemus and the capture of Ares and Aphrodite by Hephaestus. Pandora, Prometheus, Phoroneus, Io, Epaphus, the war with the Titans, Typhon, Deucalion's flood and Phaethon complete the group.
Hyginus, De astronomia 2.42.1–2.43.1Book 2: The five planets and the Milky WayHyginus ends the star-stories with the five wandering stars, each given a divine owner and a story. He then explains the Milky Way, for which he gives four accounts, through the infancy of Hermes or Heracles or the stone given to Cronus.
Hyginus, De astronomia 4.15.1–4.19.2Book 4: The five planets and the end of the bookThe five wandering stars are briefly characterised: Hesperus (Venus), Stilbon (Mercury), Phaenon (Jupiter), Phaethon (Saturn) and Pyrois (Mars). The text breaks off just as Hyginus turns to the reasons for intercalating months.
Hyginus, Fabulae 0The genealogical prefaceHyginus opens with lists of the first gods and their offspring: Chaos, Night, the Titans, the Giants, the Nereids and the children of Zeus and the other Olympians. The names are given almost without narrative, and many are corrupt in the manuscript.
Hyginus, De astronomia 4.14.1–5Book 4: The moon, its eclipses and the spheres of the planetsAfter a short apology for length, Hyginus shows that the moon moves, shines by the sun's light, and is eclipsed when the sun's light is cut off or when the earth stands in the way. He ends with a scheme of the planetary spheres, spaced by half-tones, and an argument that the moon is smaller than the sun.
Hyginus, Fabulae 219–225Archelaus, Cura, the Seven Sages, the Seven Wonders and the first templesArchelaus and the founding of Aegeae lead to the allegory of Cura (Care), the Seven Sages and the Seven Wonders. Mortals made immortal and the founders of the earliest temples complete this short group, with gaps where the manuscript is lost.

Lucian of Samosata (2)

Lucian of Samosata, Timon 1–15Timon's complaint to Zeus; Zeus sends PlutusTimon, digging in a smock-frock, reproaches Zeus for letting men cheat and forswear themselves and tells how the friends he enriched deserted him. Zeus sees him from heaven, and Hermes explains that generosity and flatterers have ruined him. Zeus sends Hermes with Plutus and Thesaurus to make Timon rich again, although Plutus is unwilling to go.
Lucian of Samosata, On the Dance 35–61The dancer's material: the myths of GreeceLycinus says that the dancer must know all of mythology, from Chaos and the birth of the world onward. He runs through the stories that the dancer has to be able to show, from Athens, Megara, Sparta and Thessaly, among them Nisus and Scylla, Hyacinth, Pelias and Jason, Alcestis.

Orpheus (attributed) (3)

Orpheus (attributed), Orphic Hymns 12–16Hymns 12-16: Hercules, Saturn, Rhea, Jupiter, JunoHercules is praised as the untamed, strong-handed god of the twelve labours. Saturn (Kronos) is invoked as the mighty Titan and husband of Rhea, and Rhea as the daughter of Protogonus and mother of gods and men. The group ends with Jupiter (Zeus), the supreme king of the gods, and Juno (Hera), his queen of the air.
Orpheus (attributed), Orphic Hymns 47–51Hymns 47-51: Bacchus Pericionius, Sabasius, Ippa, Lysius Lenaeus, the NymphsFour Dionysiac hymns come first: to Bacchus Pericionius, who once took the house of Cadmus into his care, to Sabasius, here called the offspring of Saturn, to Ippa, the nurse of Bacchus, whose rites are those of Sabus, and to Lysius Lenaeus, the god of wine born of two mothers. The last hymn of the group calls on the Nymphs, who dwell in watery caves and derive their birth from Ocean.
Orpheus (attributed), Orphic Hymns 83–87Hymns 83-87: Ocean, Vesta, Sleep, Dreams, DeathOcean is invoked as the ever-flowing source from which gods and men first arose, and Vesta as the daughter of Saturn whose seat holds an unwearied flame. The collection ends with three hymns to the powers that close the day and life: Sleep, sovereign of gods and men, the divinity of Dreams, the angel of future fates, and Death, whose empire extends to all mortal tribes.

Plato (8)

Plato, Cratylus 401b–404eHestia, Rhea and Cronus, Poseidon, Pluto and Hades, Demeter, Hera and PherephattaSocrates begins with Hestia, whose name he links to essence, ousia, and the pushing (othoun) which some find in the nature of things, and with Rhea and Cronus, which he connects with the flux of Heracleitus. He explains Poseidon as the one whose foot is held by the sea, and Pluto as the giver of wealth that comes up from the earth. He says that Hades is not called so from the unseen, but because he knows all noble things, and holds the souls by their desire for virtue, so that no one wishes to leave him. Demeter is the giver of food like a mother, Hera is the lovely one, perhaps air (aer), and Pherephatta, whose name people fear, is explained as the one who touches what moves.
Plato, Laws 713a–715eBook IV: The age of Cronos and the daemons; the aim of laws and the claims to ruleThe Athenian says that the constitutions they named are arrangements of states in which a part rules and serves, each named after the ruling power, and that the state should be called after the god who is truly its master. He tells the tale that long before any cities, in the time of Cronos, there was a most prosperous government, and that Cronos, knowing that no human nature can have irresponsible control of human affairs without becoming proud and unjust, set over our cities not men but daemons, a nobler and more divine race, as we set shepherds over sheep. He concludes that wherever a mortal and not a god rules, the people have no rest from ills, and we should imitate the life of the age of Cronos and order our homes and states in obedience to the immortal element within us, called law. He says that the claim that the law marches with nature when it justifies the right of might, as Pindar says, would mean that laws are made in the interest of a section, which are called feudalities and not polities.
Plato, Republic 377a–379eBook II: The education of the guardians begins: censoring the stories of the poetsSocrates says that education has two parts, gymnastics for the body and music for the soul, and that music begins with the stories told to children, which are mostly false, though they contain some truth. The founders of the city must therefore supervise the makers of fables, and must reject the great falsehood about the gods that Hesiod tells of Uranus and Cronos, and the stories of Cronos' revenge, which should not be told to the young even if they were true. He also rejects the tales of Hera bound by her son, of Hephaestus hurled from heaven by his father, and of the battles of the gods that Homer composed. The patterns for talk about gods are that god is good and the cause of good only, not of evil.
Plato, Statesman 272a–274eThe age of Cronus and the age of ZeusIn the age of Cronus God himself was the shepherd of the creatures, and spirits (daemons) tended the herds of animals, so that there was no war or feeding on each other, and men grew from the earth and had no wives or children. The Stranger asks which life was happier, that of the reign of Cronus or the present age of Zeus, and says it depends on whether the men then used their leisure for philosophy. When the age ended, the god let go of the helm, the universe turned back and men had to rear themselves, and the gods gave them fire through Prometheus, the arts through Hephaestus and the goddess who is his fellow-artisan, and seeds and plants through other deities. All things imitated the universe and had to care for themselves.
Plato, Timaeus 41a–43eThe birth of the young gods and the making of mortal soulsTimaeus says that the generation of the other divinities should be told as the ancient accounts have it: of Ge and Uranus were born Oceanus and Tethys, of these Phorkys, Cronos and Rhea, and of Cronos and Rhea, Zeus and Hera. The Maker addresses the gods he has made, saying that they are not immortal by their own nature but will not be dissolved by his will, and orders them to create the mortal living creatures. He himself makes the immortal part of the soul by pouring it again into the mixing bowl and divides it into souls equal in number to the stars, shows them the nature of the universe, and the laws of fate. The young gods then make the mortal part in the body, and the revolutions of the soul are disturbed by the flow of nourishment in the newborn.
Plato, Cratylus 395a–397eNames of heroes and of Zeus, Cronus and Uranus; the first godsSocrates explains Agamemnon (admirable for his endurance), Atreus, Pelops (he who sees what is near) and Tantalus, whose name fits the terrible misfortunes told of him. He explains Zeus, whose name is like a sentence, divided into Dia and Zena, the cause of life, and says that Cronus, son of Uranus, means the purity of a great mind, while Uranus is the gaze upward at the things above. He says that this sudden wisdom comes from Euthyphro the Prospaltian, with whom he spent the morning. He then proposes to study the names of the gods, and says that the first men in Greece believed only in sun, moon, earth, stars and sky, and called them gods (theoi) from their running (theein).
Plato, Statesman 268a–271eThe myth of the reversed universe: Atreus and Thyestes, the golden lambThe Stranger says that other arts also claim to tend human beings, such as the merchant, the farmer and the physician, and that to separate the statesman from these he needs a story. He recalls the tale of the quarrel between Atreus and Thyestes, when the god changed the course of the sun as a sign in favour of Atreus, the tale of the reign of Cronus and the tale that the first men were earthborn. He explains that the universe is moved at one time by God, who guides its revolution, and at another it is left to turn in the opposite direction by itself when the god lets go. In the reversal the old become young, and animals and men on earth suffer a great destruction, so that few survive.
Plato, Gorgias 523a–527eThe myth of the judgment of the dead: Zeus, Rhadamanthus, Minos and AeacusSocrates tells a tale that he believes to be true: Zeus, Poseidon and Pluto divided the empire they inherited from their father, and in the time of Cronos the law was that the just went to the Islands of the Blessed and the unjust to Tartarus. Judgment was given on the day of death, by living judges, and Zeus, seeing that the verdicts were bad, ordered Prometheus to take away the foreknowledge of death, and had the dead judged naked, by his sons Minos and Rhadamanthus from Asia and Aeacus from Europe, in the meadow at the parting of the ways. The soul is marked by its deeds as the body by scars, and Rhadamanthus sends the curable to Tartarus to be cured and the incurable to be an example, like Tantalus, Sisyphus and Tityus, who were potentates, and the just, especially the philosopher, to the Islands of the Blessed. Socrates ends that he believes in the story, and that Callicles, who will be unable to help himself before the judge, should follow the life of justice, and that this is better than the life that Callicles recommends.

Plutarch (14)

Plutarch, On the Face in the Moon 26Sylla's story: Ogygia, Cronus asleep and the Greeks of the far continentSylla interrupts to give the other part of the discourse, and begins with Homer's island of Ogygia, five days' sail west of Britain, with three others near it. In one of them, the barbarians say, Cronus is imprisoned by Zeus, and the great continent that surrounds the ocean is inhabited by Greeks who came with Heracles. He goes on to describe the sacred voyage made once in thirty years, when the star of Cronus enters Taurus, to the islands of the Greeks beyond.
Plutarch, Roman Questions 10–19Questions 10-19: covered heads, Saturn, Terminus, Matuta, Hercules and JanuaryThe questions ask why Romans cover their heads at worship but sacrifice to Saturn and to Honour bare-headed, and why Saturn is called the father of truth. They explain why sons veil their heads at funerals and daughters unbind their hair, why no living creature is sacrificed to Terminus, and why maid-servants are barred from the temple of Matuta, where a single slave is slapped. Question 18 treats the tithe paid to Hercules, and Question 19 the beginning of the year in January.
Plutarch, Roman Questions 42–53Questions 42-53: the temple of Saturn, Venus, Vulcan, the Lares and the Sardians for saleQuestions 42 and 43 explain why the temple of Saturn holds the treasury and the record of ambassadors' names, and Question 44 why the priest of Jupiter may not swear an oath. Other questions treat the free flow of wine at the Veneralia, the open temple of Horta, the siting of the temple of Vulcan outside the city, the garlanded horses at the Consualia and the candidates' togas without tunics. Questions 51 and 52 ask about the dog set before the Lares and the dog sacrificed to Mana Geneta, and Question 53 why Sardians are put up for sale during the games at the Capitol.
Plutarch, Parallel Stories (Greek and Roman Parallel Stories) 7–14Pyraechmes, Philip's eye, Icarius, Pausanias, Epaminondas' son, Iole and MetellusHeracles, still a youth, defeats Pyraechmes of Euboea and has him torn apart by horses, and Philip is shot in the eye by Aster of Olynthus. In the story of Icarius, Saturn lodges with a farmer whose daughter Entoria bears Janus, Hymnus, Faustus and Felix, and Icarius learns the use of wine. Others tell of Pausanias, whose father walls him into the temple of Athena of the Brazen House, of Darius and his son Ariobarzanes, of Epaminondas' son Stesimbrotus who fights against orders, of Iole who falls from the wall of Oechalia unhurt, and of Metellus, who neglected Vesta.
Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 12–14The myth begins: the birth of the gods, Osiris the lawgiver and Typhon's plotPlutarch tells the story of Rhea's secret union with Cronus, the Sun's curse, and how Hermes won five extra days from the Moon, on which the gods were born, Osiris on the first. Osiris as king of Egypt teaches the use of grain, laws and the worship of the gods, and then travels the world civilising it by persuasion and song. In his absence Typhon is held back by Isis, but on his return he plots with seventy-two conspirators, and shuts Osiris in a chest made to his size and sets it afloat. The Pans and Satyrs near Chemmis first spread the news, the origin of 'panic'.
Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 32–34Nature allegories: the Nile as Osiris, the sea as TyphonPlutarch turns to the allegories, first the simple ones, in which Osiris is the Nile, Isis the land and Typhon the sea that swallows it. The priests also call the whole moist principle Osiris, as the source of all generation. They think the sun and moon sail in boats, rather than driving chariots, and that water is the origin of all, as Thales, who learned from the Egyptians, held.
Plutarch, Life of Publicola 10.1–12.4Valerius becomes Publicola; his laws and the treasury in the temple of Cronus (Saturn)The people suspect that Valerius is aiming at tyranny, since he rules alone and lives in a stately house on the Velia that overlooks the forum, so he razes it overnight and has the axes removed from the lictors' rods. The people then call him Publicola, 'people-cherisher'. He fills up the senate, allows appeals to the people, makes it a capital offence to take a magistracy not given by the people, and lets anyone who aims at tyranny be killed without trial. He also makes the temple of Cronus (Saturn) the treasury, with two quaestors chosen by the people.
Plutarch, Life of Tiberius Gracchus 10.1–12.5Tiberius and Octavius: the veto and the deposition of a tribuneThe wealthy win over the tribune Marcus Octavius, who vetoes the law, and Tiberius answers with a harsher bill, halts public business and seals the treasury in the temple of Cronus (Saturn). The senate accomplishes nothing, and when Octavius refuses every entreaty, Tiberius puts to the tribes a law depriving him of his tribuneship, pauses after seventeen of the thirty-five tribes have voted to plead with him, and then carries the vote. A freedman drags Octavius from the rostra, and the people rush at him until he is rescued, while a servant who protects him has his eyes torn out.
Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus 18.1–20.5Cineas at Rome, Appius Claudius' speech and the honesty of FabriciusPyrrhus sends Cineas to Rome with offers of peace, and the senate inclines to accept until the old, blind Appius Claudius is carried in and persuades it to refuse any talk until Pyrrhus leaves Italy. Cineas reports that the senate is like a council of kings and the people like a Lernaean hydra. Caius Fabricius, sent to treat for the prisoners, refuses Pyrrhus' gold, stays calm before a hidden elephant, and cries out that Pyrrhus and the Samnites may hold Epicurus' doctrines while at war with Rome. He declines Pyrrhus' offer of a place at his side, and the prisoners are lent for the festival of Saturn.
Plutarch, Life of Cimon 10.1–11.3Cimon's open table, the bribe of Rhoesaces and the tributary alliesCimon takes down the fences of his fields, gives a daily dinner to any poor man, and has young followers give clothes and small change to needy citizens, so that he seems to restore the age of Cronus. His policy is aristocratic and Laconian, he opposes Ephialtes' attack on the Areiopagus, and he refuses the silver and gold Rhoesaces leaves at his door. He lets allies who do not wish to serve pay money and ships without crews, and so they become tributary subjects instead of allies.
Plutarch, On the Obsolescence of Oracles 20–22Ammonius answers the Epicureans; Cleombrotus's tale of the stranger and the worldsAmmonius replies to the Epicurean argument that bad daemons cannot live long, pointing out that length of life does not measure virtue, and asks Cleombrotus to resume. Cleombrotus then tells how he found, near the Red Sea, a man who spent most of his time with Nymphs and Daemons. Cleombrotus says that Plato refused to affirm an infinity of worlds, and that this man held there were one hundred and eighty-three, arranged in a triangle.
Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 69–71Mournful festivals and fasts; the lament for the fruitsPlutarch asks how to act in the mournful, gloomy rites without either neglecting the laws or confusing one's notions of the gods, and he notes that the Greeks too have like rites. He argues that these fasts and laments grew up around the season when the fruits disappear, and the ancients did not take the fruits to be gods but gifts of the gods. The lament is for the loss of the fruits, with a prayer that the gods who give them will send new ones.
Plutarch, On the Face in the Moon 29–30The moon as the home of souls; the daemons of the moon and DelphiThe souls that rise to the moon see its nature, a mixture of earth and star, as the earth is mixed with wind and moisture. The soul remains in the moon, keeping only some traces of life like a dream, while the understanding returns to the sun. The daemons do not always stay in the moon but sometimes come down to guard oracles, to join in the greatest rites and to punish misdeeds, and if they err they are cast down to earth and bound to human bodies.
Plutarch, Consolation to Apollonius 35–37The reward of the pious; Plato on the immortality of the soul; the close of the letterThe writer quotes Pindar's description of the fields of the pious in the afterlife, with a sun that shines in the night of the world below. He turns to Plato's discussion of the immortality of the soul in the Phaedo, Republic, Meno and Gorgias, and quotes the myth of the judgment of the dead that Socrates tells to Callicles. He ends by saying that he has put the arguments together to dispel Apollonius' sorrow and to honour the memory of his son.

Strabo (4)

Strabo, Geography 10.3.9–12Orgiastic worship: Dionysus, Rhea and the infant ZeusStrabo reflects on why festivals, music, ecstasy and secrecy bring people close to the gods. He sets out the cults of Dionysus, Apollo, Hecate, the Muses and Demeter (Ceres) and their ministers. He then tells how in Crete the Curetes danced in armour to hide the infant Zeus (Jupiter) from Cronus (Saturn), and connects Rhea with the Phrygian Great Mother.
Strabo, Geography 3.5.3–4Gades and the cattle of GeryonStrabo describes Gades, with its great fleets, its many knights and its New Town built by Balbus, and the temples of Cronus (Saturn) and Heracles (Hercules) at either end of the island. He mentions the small islands near by, one called the Island of Hera (Juno). Pherecydes is said to have called Gades Erythia, and the rich pasture of a nearby island is thought to be the source of the myth of the oxen of Geryon.
Strabo, Geography 14.2.14–21Cnidus, Halicarnassus and CosStrabo follows the Carian coast to Cnidus, then Halicarnasus with the tomb of Mausolus and the spring Salmacis, and recounts how Ada was restored by Alexander. Cos is described with its Asclepieium, where Hippocrates is said to have learned from the recorded cures, and the Antigonus of Apelles; the Venus Anadyomene (Aphrodite emerging from the sea) once stood there but is now at Rome. Myndus, Bargylia and Iasus follow.
Strabo, Geography 17.3.20–23The Great Syrtis and CyreneStrabo describes the Great Syrtis, its dangerous shallows, the Altars of the Philaeni and the Nasamones, then Berenice near lake Tritonis with a temple of Aphrodite (Venus), the lake of the Hesperides and the march of Cato. He goes on to Cyrene, founded from Thera by Battus, and to the silphium district. He lists famous natives of Cyrene such as Aristippus, Callimachus, Eratosthenes and Carneades, and ends at the Catabathmus with the peoples of the interior.

Virgil (6)

Virgil, Aeneid 8.306–369Evander shows Aeneas the site of RomeEvander walks Aeneas through the site and tells how Kronos (Saturn), driven out by Zeus (Jupiter), came to the wild region and gave its people laws, bringing a golden age. Later ages brought war and greed, and Evander himself arrived as an exile guided by his mother Carmentis. He points out the Carmental gate, the Lupercal, the grove of Argiletum and the Capitoline hill, where the Arcadians believe a god dwells. He then leads Aeneas to his plain house and gives him a bed of leaves.
Virgil, Georgics 2.109–176Each land its own trees; the praise of ItalyDifferent trees belong to different lands, such as willows by water, myrtles on the shore, and ebony, frankincense and the citron in distant eastern places. The poet says none of these lands can match Italy. There the soil grows grain, wine, olives, horses and bulls, spring lasts almost all year, and there are no tigers, lions or huge serpents. He praises its cities, lakes, harbours, metals and warrior peoples, and hails it as the land of Kronos (Saturn).
Virgil, Georgics 2.458–542The happiness of the farmerThe poet calls farmers fortunate, because far from war the earth gives them an easy living. They lack palaces and luxuries but have calm, cattle, grottoes and justice. He wishes to know nature's causes, but would be content with rivers and woods and counts as blest the man who knows Pan, Silvanus and the nymphs. He contrasts those who sail, fight, hoard or seek office with the farmer's year of fruit, children and holidays, and recalls that golden Kronos (Saturn) lived so long ago.
Virgil, Eclogues 4.1–63Eclogue 4: the return of the golden ageThe poet says the last age sung by the Sibyl of Cumae has ended and a new order begins, with justice, the reign of Kronos (Saturn) and a new race from heaven. It begins at the birth of a boy in the consulship of Pollio, for whom the earth pours out flowers, goats come home with milk and serpents die. As he grows, corn ripens, though a new Argo and a new Achilles still appear. The poet hopes to live to sing of him.
Virgil, Eclogues 6.1–86Eclogue 6: the song of SilenusThe poet says the Cynthian god warned him to sing slender songs, and he dedicates this one to Varus. The young Chromis and Mnasyllos find Silenus asleep, drunk, and bind him with garlands, and Aegle smears his face with mulberry juice. Laughing, he agrees to sing of the world's making from seeds, of Pyrrha's stones, the reign of Kronos (Saturn) and Prometheus, of Pasiphae and her bull, and of Gallus among the Muses. He sings until the evening star bids the shepherds fold their sheep.
Virgil, Aeneid 12.791–842Zeus and Hera are reconciledZeus (Jupiter) tells Hera (Juno) that she has done enough and should stop opposing Aeneas. Hera agrees to step back and asks that the Latins keep their name, language and dress. Zeus grants this, promising that the two peoples will mix into one nation that Hera herself will honor above all others.