Where does our notion about Father Time come from? It is an amazing story about several old tales of ancient proportions. I have always had a visual of an old man with a long white beard, holding a sickle, an hourglass and in many cases a crow on his shoulder. We have seen him in many Christmas movies, cartoons and Christmas decorations. This old man has always seemed to me as a gentle soul and closer to a Santa Claus type person. To tell you the truth he was a much scarier fellow in ancient days. In a matter of fact, I found information on him and it showed Father Time as literally 3 separate people. The stories have now been pushed together to make one for our modern version of what Father Time is all about.
Artwork above is from the #2 source website page
I found that his names were said to be Cronus, Chronos, Kronos, Saturn, and in some areas Sower the ancient Italian Corn God or Grim Reaper. He was the Titan that swallowed his children for fear of being over thrown as King. So much of the ancient history records we taught by word of mouth stories. So it is easy to see why there is so many versions of how the Father Time legend came to be. Cronus or Kronus was actually the Greek god of the harvest or agriculture. Where as Khronos (Saturn) was the Roman Diety of Time. Here's the break down, as I have tried to piece together, accordingly:
Cronus or Kronos -
His parents were Uranus (Ouranos) the Heaven or sky father and Gaea (Gaia) the earth mother. He was the youngest of the 12 Titans born. (He did some awful things to his father, which I will not retell because I don't feel that it is what I want for this page. Please visit the referenced sites)
He was given a piece of Flint which was a piece from his mother Gaea which was shaped into a crescent shaped tool to cut down life during the time of harvest. The crescent shaped tool is called a sickle and it was symbolic of the rise and fall of the moon phases. During certain times of his reign as King he would use his sickle in a cruel and persistent fashion. The never ending flow of time.
He ruled with Rhea his sister the goddess of necessity where they had 5 children in which he swallowed. The sixth child Rhea took away to Crete to live until adulthood. Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock swaddled in blankets to protect the child. His name was Jupiter (Zeus). When Jupiter reached adulthood he made his father excrete his siblings and the Olympians fought for ten years against the Titans. In the end Jupiter and his siblings defeated Cronus. He was then imprisioned in Tartaros.
When the gods and goddesses were at the end of their reign of influence to mortal being, when Christianity started to make its mark, Cronus was released from his prison and made kind of Elysian Island. This was the home of the blessed dead. He lies sleeping as an old man while being taken care of by nymphs. (Some way to live, eh)
Much symbolism comes from the release of Cronus and the condition he was in at that time. This is, I feel, why we relate him to our current Father Time of today. His body was once a strong Titan and after his release he was an old fragile man. It was shown that time devoures all things even an immortal Titan. His physical vitality was exhaust and his energy was ran out. The hourglass that he then had placed in his one hand showed sand running down to an end. When it is flipped over a new start can begin anew. The white beard that he had developed over the years shows his old age. With that he learned that with age comes wisdom that can be experience within a persons life.
There is never an end to anything always transition. The sickle that is held in his other hand can represent the cruel, destructive nature of the harvest (life) but it is necessary. Without the cutting down of the old crops, the new crops could never start.
So he learned the meaning of life the hard way.
Whatever life brings to us we do can redo, retry, experience what we thought was lost or the pain we may have caused others. Do-over, Father Time learned as Cronus so we can learn too. Never stop believing in yourself. The end of the year has now gone and we are transitioning into a new phase of our life. Take that tip from Father Time and move yourself into a new direction. Do not stay imprisioned because of any circumstance. You have what it takes to make any impact you want just do it, try it, go for it and take your life to the next level.
Thank you Father Time for moving on for we all want a better tomorrow!
1. Father Time
www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com
2. Father Time
http://www.novareinna.com/festive/oft.html
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