1. Rhea – The Eternal Titan Queen
When someone calls you by the name, it is instinctive to answer, without thinking. Well that was
the case with me as well. I was named Riya when all of three months old and taken to a doctor
by my parents for a general health check up. It was that blessed and good man who is responsible
for the name which I have been known by till date. My parents were asked whether the baby had
been given an official name to which the answer was negative since no formal names had been
finalized yet.
The doctor suggested a name with a beautiful meaning. Rhea, as is the original Greek name, was
the mother of Zeus the divine monarch in Greek mythology. As for yours truly, I enjoy my name
because it is short and simple to pronounce ( sweet, according to some). People don’t stumble
over saying my name in a series of verbal confusion and incapability! So coming back to the
point, as an adult, did some heavy duty research on my name and here is what I found out about
the lady who was my mythical namesake.
Rhea- The Titan Queen And Mother Of Zeus
Kronos was the king of gods in Greek mythology and was married to his sister Rhea. ( These
Greeks were sure as hell mentally demented and maybe their children were physically deformed
too). He had usurped the divine throne by killing his dad or some such thing. It was foretold by
the Oracle which was a divine message that one of his own offspring would be responsible for
the downfall of Kronos.
Well Kronos wasn’t exactly a sweet person by nature, if you know what I mean. He was an evil
and tyrannical monarch. Well you can imagine how wicked if he had killed his own father for a
mere throne. Anyway so upon hearing the message, he became cautious and started devouring
his kids faster than Rhea bore them. The same fate followed five angelic children whose names
were Posodieon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera. These divine kids were all the future gods
and goddesses so don’t run away but read on! You may well be wondering how come their mom
Rhea bore such a fate of her poor babies and never raised her voice in protest against that
devilish husband of hers.
Well maybe she did or did not, which isn’t really important but of course a mom is always
protective of her kids so it does seem strange. Anyway speaking of weird, Kronos had gobbled
up his five kids and know what? They dint die but remained trapped in their father’s body and
grew up there.
Birth Of Zeus And Rhea’s Flight To Crete

2. Rhea was probably tired of bearing so many children and never experiencing the joys of
motherhood. Or maybe she hated her husband for killing their kids. Whatever the reason or
moral issues, good sense probably prevailed over the lady, better late than never! You wont
believe it but she was expecting her sixth child now. This baby was none other than the hero of
the piece, Zeus! ( Six kids! Wow, probably someone should have taught them family planning)
The heavenly queen determined to save this child from the infernal clutches of his diabolical
father. She gave her husband a wrapped stone or bundle which he promptly swallowed. But
behold! His conqueror had arrived and survived and just growing in his mom’s womb for the day
to strike.
Well wont consumer your time further, dear readers. There were many details and various
accounts of the battle between Zeus and Kronos. But to cut a long story short, Rhea made her
way to the island of Crete and concealed herself in a dark cave there. Her youngest son Zeus was
born here. So this is the legend of the divine lady who is most acclaimed as the mother of Zeus,
barring which she has almost no role to play in the Greek myths. What happened to her in the
later years remains a mystery. The concept of Mother’s Day probably originates from the name
of this queen goddess.
Conclusion
We mere mortals write the name in a variety of spellings. I write it as Riya and many write as
Ria, Reia and so on. This name also refers to a coastline found in Southern America and a kind
of flightless bird which can run pretty fast. Anyway, coming back to the topic at hand, for all of
you who are blessed with this name know its divine origin now.
As for me, I can only thank my dad, my mom and my brother raja ( although he had nothing to
do with naming me but has been a great bro always) for bestowing this blessed name upon me.
Certainly I was foolish and reckless in my earthly pursuits on a number of occasions but
someone who has recklessness coursing through her veins, divinity associated with her name
plus God’s little angels hovering nearby will always remain well protected and well loved by her
family and friends! To all the Riyas the world over!
Riya Dutta
17th
June 2013
Monday 9.00 am IST