Chronos

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For other uses, see Chronos (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology, Chronos (Χρόνος in Greek) in pre-Socratic philosophical works is said to be the personification of time. He emerged from the primordial Chaos. He is often mythologically confused with the Titan Cronus (Κρόνος in Greek).

He was depicted in Greco-Roman mosaics as a man turning the zodiac wheel. Often the figure is named Aeon (Eternal Time), a common alternate name for the god. His name actually means "Time", and is alternatively spelled Khronos (transliteration of the Greek), Chronos, Chronus (Latin version). Some of the current English words which show a tie to khronos/chronos and the attachment to time are chronology, chronic, and chronicle.

In astronomy, the planet we now call Saturn because of Roman influence was called Khronos by the Greeks.^{[verification needed]} It was the outermost planet god/deity, and was considered the seventh of the seven heavenly objects that are visible with the naked eye. Given that it had the longest observable repeatable period in the sky, which is currently around 30 years, it was thought to be the keeper of time, or Father Time, since no other objects had been seen or recorded to have a longer period. That is why it is often depicted as an elderly man with a long gray beard, as mentioned above.

[edit] Chronos vs. Cronus

In Greek myth Chronos, also known as Aion or Aeon, was the god of the Ages (Golden to Brazen) and the Zodiac, parent, with Ananke (Inevitability), to the primordial Phanes, who hatched from the world-egg at the beginning of time; Cronus was the ruler of the Titans, as Titan god of time, born from Ouranos and Gaia, and father of Zeus.

Chronos is a personification of Time; χρονος is the ordinary Greek word for time. The confusion with Cronus, the Titan, is a Hellenistic invention, explaining Cronus through guesses at his etymology.

The planet Saturn was named after the Roman god equivalent. The Greeks had in turn borrowed this tradition from the east.^{[verification needed]} Many academic works and encyclopedias conflate the two figures, or completely ignore the existence of Chronos, as a distinct and separate embodiment of time. The Britannica 11th Edition notes that Chronos means "time", and is often confused with Cronos, but never says that Chronos was a deity.[1]

[edit] External links

Theoi Project, Chronos references to father Time in Greek texts and classical art
Mark Freier "Time Measured by Kairos and Kronos" (2006 Article) http://www.whatifenterprises.com/whatif/whatiskairos.pdf