God research: 5. Chronos

Hey, Jess here!

This time, my random god selector (a.k.a. a match of Assault in Smite) came up with Chronos. So let's do it.

Chronos is the god of time, measurable time to be exact. He was originated from the first god Chaos. Another Greek word for time is Kairos, but this roughly means 'the indeterminate moment that is right for something to occur' and is more associated with the feeling of not knowing how much (measurable) time has passed.

Source: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos

Chronos is usually portrayed as an old and very wise man who has a long, grey beard. This is similar to Father Time. This name also came from something else. Chronos is often confused with Cronus, the Titan (though some think he is consciously identified with him) because of the similar names. Also, the Greeks believed that the name Cronus was an allegorical name for Chronos. It wasn't only the name, but also the story of how Cronus ate his children (the Olympians) was interpreted as an allegory to a specific aspect of time. This aspect of time was held in Cronus's sphere of influence.

According to the theory, Cronus was a representation of the destructive ravages of time that consumed all things. This was literally shown when the Titan consumed the Olympians. It states that the past is consuming the future and that older generations suppress the next one (sounds familiar huh?).

Below you can find Chronos' lore as it is written by the creators of Smite.

Existence is measured in age. How many years has a mortal lived? What was the construction date of the Parthenon? When were the cosmos formed? Time begins at birth, at creation. But, inevitably, time for all things comes to an end. Except, of course, time itself. Bearer of the clock of eternity, rimmed by signs of the Zodiac, the Keeper of Time, Chronos, counts every tick of the second hand, preventing interference with that essential forward momentum. If he knows who or when the eternal clock was wound, Chronos does not tell, but upon the first stroke, he came to be. Emptiness was the ocean, then, and his only companion was Ananke, Queen of Fate. Together, their powers divided the vastness into heaven and earth and sea and sky. Thereafter, Chronos became an observer, the watchman of infinity. Patient to a fault, Chronos knows no urgency. He does not fear pain, or war, or death, for he is time itself and will outlast all. For this reason, his presence on the field of battle is alarming. This war between Gods must portend a conclusion so dire as to threaten the very existence of time. Perhaps, all the Gods should begin counting the seconds of the eternal clock. There may be few of them remaining.

Unfortunately this was all I could find about Chronos. I searched on many websites, looked into all the books I have related to the subject and I even asked other people on other websites about it. There just don't seem to be any stories involving Chronos. There was one person though, who suggested that I'd watch Class of the Titans, because Chronos is the villain in this series. But I don't think that's a very reliable source. That doesn't mean I won't watch it some time for my own enjoyment =)

Someone else suggested me to read a certain book. From what I've seen, it's a novel and not anything academic, but it's based on the myths about the lesser known deities and all. I also know (now) that it's part of series. I haven't looked up of how many books it consists, but I might read it at some point. If I'm able to get my hands on it and also be able to read it in a doable time, I will let you know if I have found anything interesting!

For now, I'd like to take a little time to talk about something else. I've been working on a silly webcomic, but I haven't been able to publish it. Okay, that's mostly because I'm too scared of how it will turn out. I really have a lot of fun drawing those (simple) pictures and I think it's all kind of funny, but I'm afraid I'm the only one who thinks that. My boyfriend likes them too, but maybe he's just being nice?

And that's not all. I just can't come up with a good name for it. My boyfriend (there he is again!) came up with a name and I thought it was quite good and funny, but then I started thinking about it a little more and I doubt if it's actually a fitting name. To be honest, now that I'm writing this, I don't even know if a name is really necessary!

You seen, I would love to publish the first part of it all, but I'm holding myself back. I was planning to post it all on Tumblr, because many who have become great, started there and/or are still posting there. But I don't have too many followers yet and I don't know how to reach people there, because none of my friends are on Tumblr, so I don't have anywhere to start.

The point is, I'm just too scared of everything to actually do it. I'm sorry about complaining and all, but I just wish I knew how to do this all.

To be continued...