Cybele

Cybele, known in Greek as Kybele and in Roman contexts as Magna Mater, is a mother goddess whose cult originated in Phrygia and spread through Anatolia and the wider Mediterranean. She is associated with fertility, nature, mountains, and the cycles of life and death, and in many traditions is linked to Attis, a youthful vegetation god who dies and is reborn, symbolizing seasonal renewal.

Iconography and worship often show Cybele enthroned or standing, wearing a crown or mural crown, and sometimes accompanied by lions. Her sacred symbols include the tympanon (drum) and the sistrum, used in rites that emphasized ecstatic procession and ritual drama. Her priesthood included eunuch priests known as Galloi or Galli, and the Attis myth is central to her cult, portraying death and rebirth as a cosmic pattern.

Spread and reception: In the Hellenistic period Cybele was adopted into Greek religious practice and integrated with local mother goddess traditions. Her cult gained followers in Greece and later in Rome, where it was worshipped under various epithets and interacted with existing religious frameworks, sometimes overlapping with the imperial cult.

Roman adoption: In 204 BCE the cult was brought to Rome after a plague, with the statue transported from the Phrygian city of Pessinus on a wagon drawn by lions. A temple to Magna Mater was established on the Palatine Hill, and the Megalesia festival celebrated her arrival and presence in the city. The cult persisted into Late Antiquity, influencing art and ritual before its gradual decline as Christian authorities rose to prominence. It left inscriptions and architectural remains that testified to its historic impact.