Divine names and personifications

Cronos

Κρόνος (Kronos)

Cronos is a proper divine name in the list at B1282.

From the book

Empedocles’ Complete Fragments, Volume I

Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →

Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordCronos is a proper divine name in the list at B1282.
  • In EmpedoclesCronos appears between Zeus as king and Poseidon among the powers not present in the community whose queen is Cypris.
  • In this editionThe proper name Kronos is not chronos, time.
  • A place to readCronos is named among the absent powers in the community ruled by Cypris.

Meaning

Cronos is a proper divine name in the list at B1282. The edition uses the spelling Cronos; Kronos is the corresponding transliterated lookup form. The text does not use the word for time in this occurrence.

Use in the book

Cronos appears between Zeus as king and Poseidon among the powers not present in the community whose queen is Cypris. The point is the displacement of familiar divine rulers or authorities by Cypris within this particular portrayal. The line gives Cronos no action and describes no succession myth.

The modern phrase “golden age” can create a special trap here. Whatever associations a reader brings from other traditions, this fragment explicitly excludes Cronos from the community rather than making him its ruler. The article should therefore be indexed under that broader scene while preserving the difference. It cannot establish a separate Empedoclean age of Cronos, an allegorical equation with time, or a chronology of divine generations.

Places to read

  1. B 128.2–3Cronos is named among the absent powers in the community ruled by Cypris.

Translation in this edition

The proper name Kronos is not chronos, time. Similarity in English spelling must not create an etymological or doctrinal identification that the passage never states.