The Myth of Cronus

THE MYTH OF CRONUS

THE STORY

UranUs, the ruler of the sky and the heavens, and Gaia the earth, gave birth to the Titans (who came before the main Olympians). But she also gave birth to the giants, huge monstrous looking things (as far as Uranus was concerned). Uranus despised them so much that he shoved back deep into her womb, into the earth, down into Tartarus (the Underworld). Causing great pain to Gaia.

Gaia tries to convince the Titans to overthrow Uranus, but none are willing to confront their father. None except CronUs who hates his father for the treatment of his Giant brothers.

Armed with a sickle made by Gaia, CronUs turns on his father and castrates Uranus who fleas back up into the sky, cursing Cronus to suffer the same fate, to be usurped by one of his own children. Cronus after taking the thrown for himself finds out about this prophesy and becomes obsessed with keeping his power. He becomes paranoid, and sends the Giants back to Tartarus, fearing that they might turn on him. Cronus has become his father, but he goes further, eating all of the children he has with the Titan, rhea as soon as they are born. rhea tries to save one of the children, giving birth away from Cronus in Crete, and hiding the child. Swapping it for and stone wrapped in cloth. Cronus, when given the child swallows it whole, failing to notice the trick.

Thought dead the young ZeUs grows up away from his father. And years later has an opportunity to get his revenge. He gets hold of a vomit inducing potion from the Titan, Metis. Zeus disguises himself as Cronus’ cupbearer. When his father asked for a drink, Zeus would give him the potion causing him to vomit up all the children he had devoured. These children (the Olympians), together with the Giants, would fulfill the prophesy, and banish him to Tartarus, like his Giant brothers before him.

ALLEGORY

The main allegory of the myth is the dangers of tyranny and how power corrupts; it can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about the dangers of tyranny and absolutism. Cronus’s reign is characterized by oppression, fear, and violence, as he seeks to maintain his power at all costs. In the end, his hubris and cruelty lead to his downfall, and he is replaced by a more just and benevolent ruler.

REFERENCE IMAGES

HISTORICAL IMAGERY

MIDJOURNEY GENERATED IMAGES

Cronus Devouring his Child, Giulia Lama

Saturn in a niche devouring his son, Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio

the old Greek god Uranus looking evil, corrupted by power, monstrous, beard portrait head and shoulders, black and white, white background, architectural drawing

the titaness Rhea, architectural diagram, architecural drawing, head and shoulders portrait

Cronus, Goya, c. 1823

Saturn. Statue of the nude god standing on a socle, Philips Galle

The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn, Vasari and Christofano 16th century

Saturn devouring his child, Peter Paul Rubens

The myth of cronus

the anchient greek god Zeus, god of lighning and thunder, as a young man, architectural diagram, architecural drawing, head and shoulders portrait

The Titan Cronus consuming his son

The Titan Cronus devouring his son, eating his son, consuming his son, architectural diagram, architectural drawing, Francisco Goya

The Greek island Crete, seen from afar, architectural diagram, architectural drawing

The Greek Mount Othrys, seen from afar, architectural diagram, architectural drawing

the titan cronus devouring/ consuming/eating his son, architecture diagram, Francisco Goya

MYTH DIAGRAM

CRONUSEATS

MOTION MODEL

I used a “Waterbomb” origami pattern to make a tube which, when compressed, changes diameter. This collapsible tube acts in a similar way to an esophagus squeezing the food down into the digestion zone. And also, just like Cronus, the system requires power/ throne/force in order to operate/eat/rule. And without the power/throne/force it cannot operate/eat/rule.

FORCE EFFECT ANCHOR POINT

GEOMETRY & EFFECT

INITIAL CONCEPT

The tube is turned inside out, with the pointy side out and the smooth side in , allowing an object to be pushed along by the deformation of the tube. As though Cronus is eating something.

The tube is made wider, giving it more distance to compress, allowing it to open and close like a mouth

The tube is extended in length allowing it to deform in more complex ways along its length. A squished section could then move along the tube as if it was swallowing.

ANCHOR POINTS FORCES

EFFECT MOVEMENT FOCAL POINT

GEOMETRY 1

GEOMETRY

GEOMETRY 2

CHOSEN GEOMETRY

VARIATIONS & MECHANISMS

THE SWALLOWING MOTION ALONG THE TUBE

The model is made with minimal material waste. Being packed tight onto a sheet to be laser cut and folded.

The constricting is achieved using a series of loops encircling the inside of the tube, which are tightened in succession creating a swallowing motion.

The design is suspended from the movement mechanism which is bolted to the ceiling using the flanges at either end (yellow).

The cam mechanism (orange) is supported by two metal rods/rollers (yellow) rather than a central axle. A central axle would get in the way of the threads, causing it to wind itself up.

The tube is made from 4 pieces so each can be folded into the pattern. The modular sections are then glued together into the final tube using tabs.

ATTACHMENT & IMPACT

The tube is suspended at eye level allowing people to see through the middle when it is in motion. It is attached to the floor and ceiling using the threads that activate the motion along the model.

The threads are attached to the floor using a series of loops screwed into the floor.

And on the ceiling is the housing for the mechanism and motor, which is screwed into the roof.