Crius
According to the Greek mythology, Crius (also known as Krios) was one of the elder Titan gods. Crius was one of the 12 original Titans which were born to Gaea (also known as Gaia, Earth, or Mother Earth) and Ouranos (the Sky or Heavens). There were 6 males and 5 females born and Crius was one of the males. The other eleven Titans were, Okeanos, Koios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoibe, Tethys, and last and most terrible of them all was Cronus.
It has been written that Crius and his brothers, Hyperion, Koios, and Iapetus aided Cronus in the castration of their father, Uranus. It seems that Cronus was very jealous of his father as ruler of the Olympian gods and he wanted the position so when his mother, Gaea, asked her sons to help her castrate Uranus, Cronus volunteered to do the job. Gaea was tired of Uranus’ overactive sexual acts and also she hurt because Uranus placed each of the children inside Gaea in the Underground so they would not see the light. He was ashamed of them and their looks. The story tells us that Gaea made a sickle and then hid Cronus. With the help of Crius, Hyperion, Koios, and Iapetus holding Uranus, Cronus cut off his testicles and threw them into the ocean. One recording says that when his blood hit the earth, giants and monsters, were born from it and also when the testicles hit the water, there was a foam formed on the water and from it came Aphrodite. Between Uranus and Gaea, they had also gave birth of Nymphs and Cyclopes, as well as a three headed monster with three legs, and others. It is believed that the cutting off of Uranus’ male members that it separated the Sky from the Earth. After that Cronus was the ruler of the gods of Mount Olympus until Zeus overthrew him and locked him and some of the other Titans (including Crius) into the deepest pit of the Underground, known as Tartarus.
It is believed that Crius was probably connected to the constellation, Aries. The Greeks named this constellation, Krios (or “the Ram”). This was the first constellation which rose in the springtime and was the beginning of a new year on the ancient Greek calendar. Crius was the god of constellations and ordered the measures of the year. His brother, Hyperion (father of dawn, sun, and moon) ordered the days and months. It is also stated that his sons, Pallas and Perses may have presided over some constellations. Perses is associated with Perseus (the dog star, Sirios), and Pallas is associated with Auriga (the Charioteer) and the goat star (Capella).
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