Attis

Attis is a deity in Phrygian and Greek-Roman mythology, closely associated with Cybele, the Great Mother. He functions as her consort and as a vegetation god whose story embodies the cycle of dying and rebirth that accompanies the seasons. In many accounts Attis is portrayed as a young prince or lover of Cybele who becomes central to the fertility cults surrounding the goddess.

The myth most often recounts Attis falling under Cybele’s influence or love and, in a moment of frenzy or divine command, castrating himself and dying from the wounds. Cybele mourns his death, and in some versions his blood is said to have sanctified the earth or to have caused a pine tree to sprout at the site of his fall. In others, Attis experiences a form of renewal or resurrection, underscoring the seasonal theme of death and rebirth.

Cult and worship: The cult of Cybele and Attis included ecstatic rites conducted by the Galli, eunuch priests who served the goddess and emphasized themes of sacrifice and transformation. The cult spread from Phrygia to Greece and Rome, where temples and rites were established. In Rome, the worship of Cybele and Attis became a prominent ritual complex with processions, offerings, and seasonal celebrations that reflected the myth’s fertility symbolism.

Iconography and influence: Attis is often depicted as a youthful figure associated with the pine tree or with symbols of fertility and renewal. The myth influenced Roman poetry and art and fed into broader Mediterranean religious practices that valorized seasonal death and rebirth as elements of agricultural and urban life.