Winter 2025 · Torch: U.S. · IF KRONOS HAD STUDIED THE CLASSICS...
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If Kronos Had Studied the Classics...
Eloise Ogden, Dreher High School, South Carolina
Though eating children and chopping up fathers is no longer a commonplace practice, our world today still has much to learn from the Titan War. An insecure father is scared of raising his children, scared of their power, their promise, their potential. Worried that karma will come back to get him, Kronos the Patricide assumes that his children, too, will aim to destroy him and his kingdom and banish him from his throne. Perhaps the story could have turned out differently. Perhaps, if Kronos hadn’t swallowed his children as easily as medicine pills, all titans and gods could have been exposed to a seemingly foreign practice: sharing. But, alas, neither titans nor gods were able to share the stage. It had to be one or the other, “us,” or them. With a mentality like that, the story was bound to end tragically for someone.
Today, of course, one can see that this dichotomous thinking is still quite prevalent not necessarily with gods, but with people, phenomena, and ideas. Today, instead of an insecure father worried about losing his potential to up-and-coming sensations, we see an idea, even a culture, clinging onto the power it once held, resisting the new dynasty in town, much like Kronos’ opposition to sharing his kingdom. The Humanities are faced with a new rival — a rival that potentially could endanger our classical studies. For example, educational programs such as STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math — receive more than 50 times as much funding as the Humanities, putting the Humanities at risk. We cannot be the titan king of this situation. Thus, we can learn from Kronos’ mistakes to preserve the Humanities.
In any story - past or present - there are always outside whispers, voices from others using their self-appointed authority to influence someone else’s decisions. And, in the case of Kronos, this force was his mother, Gaea. Angered by her husband Uranus’ actions, Gaea decided that it would be more efficient and practical if he was — to put it tactfully — disposed. Kronos was chosen to do the deed. Of course, power appeals and sucks people in before it is too late to understand the consequences. Though Kronos willingly murdered Uranus, the action clearly haunted him. In the short term, of course, the world suddenly presented him with endless possibilities — supreme king of the universe, woo! However, his actions in the long run, severely hurt him. Kronos was wrapped in his own worries and stuck in the past, terrified that his heirs would be the death of him. This terror ended up, quite literally, killing him.
Alas, such persuasive whispers have come back to haunt us today. Instead of telling Kronos to do something, contemporary voices are telling our students not to do something. “It’ll be more efficient to just focus on x; it’s certainly more practical than exploring the Humanities,” such refrains are heard all-too commonly. Unfortunately, like in the myth, these whispers are working, striking a metaphorical scythe in the hearts of our humanities students. The manifestation of these wounds can be seen in the number of bachelor’s degrees in Humanities. According to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, these have gone down by more than 20% just in the past 10 years. Instead of succumbing to the whispering voices of supposed practicality, students devoted to the humanities must be dedicated to what they believe in, continuing to pursue their love of the classics. Kronos was haunted for the rest of his life by his past decisions, his choice to give in to the voices. People passionate about Humanities, however, must block the discouraging voices out.