Rheia was a Titan married to her brother Kronos, by whom she gave birth to Zeus and his sibling gods. By rescuing Zeus from her husband, she set in motion the dethroning of Kronos and the ascendance of Zeus to Olympus. In Asia Minor she was known as an Earth Goddess and worshipped with orgiastic rites. Her name means “flow,” apparently in reference to female menstruation, and “ease,” perhaps in reference to easy childbirth. Following the rise of her son Zeus to status as king of the gods, she disputed her portion of the world and ended up retreating to the mountains where she surrounded herself with wild creatures. She is usually associated with lions or with a chariot pulled by lions.