Rhea: Titaness, South American birds, and Saturn's moon

Rhea in Greek mythology

In classical tradition Rhea is one of the first-generation Titans, daughter of the sky and earth and the consort of Cronus. She is best known as the mother of the principal Olympian gods and goddesses. Myth relates that, to prevent Cronus from swallowing their children, Rhea secretly saved the youngest, Zeus, enabling the overthrow of the older generation. Rhea is commonly associated with motherhood, fertility and the earth; in later antiquity she is sometimes conflated with or compared to other mother-goddess figures.

Rheas: the birds

Rheas (family Rheidae, order Rheiformes) are large, flightless birds native to open habitats of South America. Two commonly recognized taxa are often called the greater rhea and the lesser or Darwin's rhea. Rheas are long-legged runners with soft plumage and three-toed feet. They are omnivorous, feeding on plants, seeds, insects and small vertebrates, and they show gregarious social behavior outside the breeding season. Reproductive habits are notable: males typically construct simple ground nests, incubate eggs from several females, and care for the young.

• Habitat and range: pampas, grasslands and open scrub across parts of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
• Conservation: some populations decline because of habitat loss, hunting and farming pressures; protection and management vary regionally.

Rhea, moon of Saturn

Rhea is one of Saturn's larger moons, discovered by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in the 17th century. It is composed largely of water ice with a significant rocky component and has a heavily cratered surface. Spacecraft observations, most notably by the Cassini mission in the early 21st century, provided detailed images and measurements, revealing its geology and a very tenuous, sputter-produced exosphere of oxygen and carbon dioxide. For a time scientists discussed possible rings or a debris torus near Rhea, but those ideas remain tentative and subject to further study.

Other uses and cultural notes

The name Rhea continues to appear in personal names, literature and art. Distinguishing among the mythological figure, the birds and the moon is important when consulting sources in different fields: each Rhea has its own scholarly traditions, from classical studies to ornithology and planetary science.