Discussion Topic
The connection and purpose of including the myth of Cronus in Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief
Summary:
The myth of Cronus in Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief serves to provide background on the Titans and their complex relationships with the Olympian gods. This context enriches the story, helping readers understand the ancient conflicts that influence the plot and characters, particularly the protagonist's struggles against divine forces.
What theme connects the myth of Cronus and Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief?
A theme that connects the myth of Cronus and Rick Riordan's The Lighting Thief is familial conflict and tension.
According to the myth, Cronus overthrew his father, Uranus, by castrating him with a sickle. He then presided over what is known as the Golden Age. He and his wife, Rhea, birthed the gods Hera, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Although Cronus enjoyed his reign, he was troubled by the prophecy that he would one day be deposed by one of his own sons.
So, Cronus took steps to protect himself: he swallowed all of his children after their birth. For her part, Rhea managed to save Zeus by hiding him in a cave on the island of Crete. When he grew up, Zeus forced an emetic down Cronus's throat, which caused him to vomit out Zeus's siblings.
Zeus and his siblings then waged war upon Cronus. In this war, called...
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the Titanomachy or the War of the Titans, the Olympians (led by Zeus) defeated the Titans (led by Cronus).
The theme of familial conflict and tensions is clear in the myth of Cronus. This major theme can also be seen in The Lightning Thief.
In the story, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades are locked in a deadly battle of wills. Accordingly, Zeus has lost his thunder bolt, his primary weapon of power. He blames Poseidon (Percy's father) for his loss. Of course, Poseidon denies his guilt. His professions of innocence do not placate Zeus, however, who threatens to unleash war on Mount Olympus.
For his part, Percy (on behalf of his father, Poseidon) travels to the Underworld to confront Hades, who is believed to be behind the loss of Zeus's thunder bolt. However, Percy receives an unpleasant surprise there: not only does Hades not have Zeus's thunder bolt in his possession, he is himself missing his helm of darkness (his primary weapon of power).
Angered at Percy's presence, Hades accuses the boy of doing Poseidon's bidding by stealing both the thunder bolt and his own helm of darkness. In reality, the god of war, Ares, has the thunder bolt and helm of darkness. The text tells us that Percy battles Ares and manages to retrieve both weapons.
Ares then confesses that he is on Cronus's side and his main goal was to instigate a war between Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus (the sons of Cronus).
As the story ends, we learn that Cronus is preparing to wage war on his sons and the Olympians once more. So, the myth of Cronus is tied to The Lightning Thief through the theme of familial conflict and tension.
One of the central themes in Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief
concerns the underestimation of one's values and strength.
Just like Percy's abilities were underestimated, especially at the beginning of
the book, the threat Cronos, or Kronos, poses
and his power is underestimated by the end of the book.
At the start of the book, Percy struggles with school because
he has been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia; plus, he is in general considered
to be a juvenile delinquent. However, as the book progresses, we learn that
Percy is actually a demigod whose father is Poseidon. As the book further
progresses, we learn he has hidden abilities to think of
solutions to problems on his feet, and together with Annabeth and Grover, Percy
is able to find the master lightning bolt that had been stolen from Zeus and
rescue the world from a war between the gods. More importantly, he
discovers that it was Kronos who
stole the master bolt by using the demigod Luke as an agent;
Kronos further used the war god Ares as an agent to start a war between the
gods.
Even before Percy makes the above discovery, he realizes that others were
underestimating the powers of Kronos. According to the myth,
Kronos was overthrown by his son Zeus, who used the master bolt to fling him
from this throne, cut him up into bits, and fling those bits to the pit of
Tartarus (Ch. 21). When Perseus tells Zeus and Poseidon about his belief Kronos
used Luke and Ares to steal the master bolt and start a war between the gods,
both Zeus and Poseidon reject the idea. When Perseus further
argues that Kronos is healing and regaining his powers, Poseidon replies with
the following:
From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing. (Ch. 21)
Yet, Percy learns through his encounter with Luke in the woods that Kronos is becoming capable of far more power than Zeus and Poseidon are willing to admit. Therefore, Zeus and Poseidon are underestimating Kronos's powers, which can lead to disaster in the form of worldwide destruction. Hence, all in all, the novel makes use of the Kronos myth to show the dangers and consequences of underestimating strengths and values.
References
Why did Rick Riordan include the myth of Cronus in The Lightning Thief?
Kronos (or Cronus) is an interesting character in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. He functions as a significant antagonist to Percy and his friends; however, Kronos never actually appears in the text. Various characters tell us about him at a couple of key locations in the text, but he remains solidly in the background of the main story. Essentially, Kronos acts as a sort of puppet-master. He plays a significant role, but we never see him. Percy believes that Kronos is getting stronger and plans to overthrow the Olympians, but nobody really believes Percy.
As for why Riordan specifically included Kronos rather than some other mythological figure, that is up to individual readers to discuss. Personally, I feel that Kronos is a good pick, and the explanation in chapter 21 fills readers in on some important details about who exactly Kronos is.
In the First War, Percy, Zeus cut our father into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos's remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their mountainous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet, Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power....
From time to time over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing.
Using the myth of Kronos is a good choice because it puts an extremely powerful god in control of things. Additionally, Kronos is an evil god with motivation for revenge and a desire to take back the power that he once had. By using the myth of Kronos, the author has set Percy up against a seemingly unbeatable enemy, and that helps with the overall heroic journey story arc that readers see Percy taking part in.