Chronos and Kairós (English)

Original composition in Portuguese-Brazil language “Chronos e Kairós”, tradition and edition English. Format edited in the Spanish, Portuguese-Brazil and English language, on the author's page Facebook. Due to lack of time the poems are no longer being versioned or rhymed, literal translation is being used. All rights reserved.

About Chronos and Kairós

Chronos is the lord of time, while Kairos represents time that cannot be controlled.

In Greek mythology, Chronos (Kronos) is the God of time, a magnitude that can be measured by hours, minutes, days, weeks, months, and years. Its strength is relentless and cannot be stopped, and all that is gained at this time is ephemeral and endurable.

Chronos married his sister Reia, with whom he had six children: Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hestia and Zeus. Fearing the fulfillment of a prophecy that he would be taken from power by his children, Chronos swallowed them all right after birth. The only one who was saved was Zeus after Reia deceived her husband and handed him a piece of cloth to be swallowed in his son's place.

As an adult, Zeus gave his father a magic potion, causing Chronos to vomit all his other children. Having defeated Chronos, which symbolized time, Zeus and his brothers became immortal. Kairós is the youngest son of Zeus and Tique, the goddess of luck and fortune.

Described as a handsome young man with only a tuft of hair on his forehead, Kairós was such an agile athlete that it was virtually impossible to pursue him. Among the Romans, he was called Tempus - which represents that brief moment when things are possible. Kairós is the time that does not belong to Chronos, and cannot be timed or predicted. It is the opportunity.

In philosophy, Chronos was described as the lord of time and the pressure of hours commanded by the clock. It was an executioner responsible for controlling the real time from birth to death. The time of Chronos is the limiting factor for the amount of activities performed during the day, and humanity ends up becoming a slave of Chronos.

Kairós, in turn, is a fearless young man who did not care about the chronological time of the clock or the calendar. Kairós was the time that could not be timed, the things that happen without an appointment, the surprises of everyday life. The time of Kairós invites us to enjoy life more lightly, more casually, regardless of the relentless Chronos.