Rhea was the Titaness mother of the gods, and goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation. Her name means "flow" and "ease." As the wife of Cronus, she represented the eternal flow of time and generations; as the great Mother (Meter Megale), the "flow" was menstrual blood, birth waters, and milk. She was also a goddess of comfort and ease, a blessing reflected in the common Homeric phrase "the gods who live at their ease (rhea)."

Rhea is a mother goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Titan daughter of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus, himself a son of Gaia. She is the older sister of Cronus, who was also her consort, and the mother of the five eldest Olympian gods (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus) and Hades, king of the underworld.

When Cronus learnt that he was destined to be overthrown by one of his children like his father before him, he swallowed all the children Rhea bore as soon as they were born. When Rhea had her sixth and final child, Zeus, she spirited him away and hid him in Crete, giving Cronus a rock to swallow instead, thus saving her youngest son who would go on to challenge his father's rule and rescue the rest of his siblings. Following Zeus's defeat of Cronus and the rise of the Olympian gods into power, Rhea withdraws from her role as the queen of the gods to become a supporting figure on Mount Olympus. She has some roles in the new Olympian era. She attended the birth of her grandson Apollo and raised her other grandson Dionysus. After Persephone was abducted by Hades, Rhea was sent to Demeter by Zeus. In the myth of Pelops, she resurrects the unfortunate youth after he has been slain.

In early traditions, she is known as "the mother of gods" and therefore is strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, who have similar functions. The classical Greeks saw her as the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses. The Romans identified her with Magna Mater (their form of Cybele), and the Goddess Ops.

All published appearances of Rhea from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

Notable appearances are listed below:

* Fabulae
* Astronomica
* Metamorphoses
* Fasti
* Aeneid
* Georgics
* Elegies
* Natural History by Pliny the Elder
* Phaedra
* Troades
* The Argonautica
* Thebaid
* Achilleid
* The Golden Ass

* The name of the bird species Rhea is derived from the goddess's name Rhea.
* Rhea, the second largest moon of the planet Saturn, is named after her.

* Wikipedia
* [https://comicvine.gamespot.com/rhea/4005-10907/ Comicvine]
* [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/ClassicalMythologyTitans TV Tropes]
* Myths in Media Wiki
* Myth & Folklore Wiki
* [https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisRhea.html Theoi]
* Religion Wiki
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rhea-Greek-goddess Britannica]
* DC Wiki
* Marvel Wiki
* Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki
* Greek Myth Wiki
* [https://mythopedia.com/topics/rhea/ Mythopedia]
Category:Immortal Characters
Category:Unknown Creator
Category:Unknown Debuts
Category:Greek Characters
Category:Goddess Characters
Category:Mythological Characters
Category:Literary Characters
Category:Comic Book Characters
Category:Animated Characters
Category:Manga / Anime Characters
Category:Video Game Characters
Category:TCG Characters
Category:Fine Art Characters
Category:Movie Characters
Category:Television Characters
Category:Theatre Characters
Category:Music Characters
Category:Mobile Game Characters
Category:Gacha Game Characters
Category:RPG Characters
Category:Streaming Television Characters
Category:Visual Novel Characters
Category:Webcomic Characters
Category:Webseries Characters
Category:Manhwa Characters
Category:Light Novel Characters
Category:Toys
Category:Board Game Characters
Category:DC Characters
Category:First Second Characters
Category:Heroic Publishing Characters
Category:Avatar Press Characters
Category:God is Dead Characters
Category:Lion Forge Characters
Category:Marvel Characters
Category:Dynamite Entertainment Characters
Category:DK Publishing Characters
Category:Dark Horse Characters
Category:Wonder Woman Characters
Category:Fire Emblem Characters
Category:God of War Characters
Category:Kamihime Project Characters
Category:Age of Empires Characters
Category:Kingdom of Heroes Characters
Category:Blood of Zeus Characters
Category:Devil Maker Tokyo Characters
Category:Valkyrie Crusade Characters
Category:Lore Olympus Characters
Category:Legend of Minerva Characters
Category:Destripando la Historia Characters
Category:Nintendo Characters
Category:Percy Jackson Characters
Category:Netflix Characters
Category:Fate Franchise Characters
Category:Hachette Characters
Category:Overly Sarcastic Productions Characters
Category:Cards, the Universe and Everything Characters
Category:Mitos y Leyendas Characters