What was Cybele the goddess of?
Cybele was the mistress of wild nature (symbolized by her constant companion, the lion), a healer, the goddess of fertility & protectress in time of war. In 186 BCE the Roman Senate, recognizing a potential menace, suppressed the worship of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus, known to the Romans as Bacchus.
Did Cybele and Zeus have a child?
Engraving of a 3rd century AD statue of Cybele on her throne flanked by lions. In Phrygian myth, she was born a hermaphroditic being named Agdistis, a child of Zeus and Gaia. Cybele had a shepherd consort named Attis, and a priesthood of eunuchs called the Galli.
Who worshiped Cybele?
Cybele grew popular in the Roman society where a cult following emerged led by priests who were said also to practice self-castration. Two festivals in her honor were held in the spring each year where food, fun, and blood sacrifices were the main events.
Is Rhea and Cybele the same?
Rhea, in Greek religion, ancient goddess, probably pre-Hellenic in origin, who was worshipped sporadically throughout the Greek world. She was associated with fruitfulness and had affinities with Gaea (Earth) and the Great Mother of the Gods (also called Cybele).
Who are Cybele’s parents?
CYBELE SUMMARY
| Parents | Sky-God and Earth-Goddess |
|---|---|
| Home | Mount Cybele in Phrygia |
| Symbols | Turret-crown, cymbal |
| Sacred Animals | Lion |
| Sacred Plants | Fir tree |
Who is the Great Mother goddess?
Great Mother of the Gods, also called Cybele, Cybebe, or Agdistis, ancient Oriental and Greco-Roman deity, known by a variety of local names; the name Cybele or Cybebe predominates in Greek and Roman literature from about the 5th century bc onward.
Is Hera and Zeus siblings?
Hera, in ancient Greek religion, a daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, sister-wife of Zeus, and queen of the Olympian gods.
Who are the parents of the goddess Cybele?
For the people of that time, Cybele came to be regarded as a protectress of civilization itself and she was highly respected. In one version of Cybele’s history, her parents are identified as the god of the sky and the goddess of the earth, Zeus and Gaia, a Titaness, respectively, making Cybele a half-Titan.
Where was the goddess Cybele worshipped in Galatia?
In Galatia she was chiefly worshipped at Pessinus, where her sacred image was believed to have fallen from heaven (Herodian, i. 35). King Midas I. built a temple to her, and introduced festive solemnities, and subsequently a more magnificent one was erected by one of the Attali. Her name at Pessinus was Agdistis (Strab. xii. p. 567).
Why was Cybele called the mother of the mountain?
One such carving believed to reference Cybele calls her the “Mother of the mountain”, a name which reveals her true Anatolian origins, as goddesses in Anatolia were often associated with specific mountains. Later, the Greeks and Romans kept better documentation of her cult, though much of her still remains a mystery.
Where was the Phrygian cult of Cybele located?
Phrygian evidence for Cybele is made up of archaeological data in the form of rock carvings and excavated evidence from her principal cult site at Pessinus in the modern day Eskişehir province of Turkey.