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| Attis |
| 10/16/09 |
In a time when the Greek city states were but wandering tribes, the forest gods walked side by side with mortal men on the Phyrgian hillside. It was there that Attis, hunter, man of the woods, and worshipper of the great goddess Cybele, lost his life.
The river god Sangarius, whose waters passed through the city, beheld the beauty of Attis and wished for his daughter to be wed to him. It was the time of festival and amidst the town’s dancing and merriment the young Attis, unwise to the seduction of the city, beheld the daughter of Sangarius and fell in love.
A youth who has pledged his celibacy to a goddess, may never break his oath. And so, on Attis’ wedding night, Cybele beheld the sacrilege: Attis, had forsaken his vow to her. At the foot of the wedding bed, Cybele reached inside Attis’ mind and shattered that which made him human.
Insane, shattered and destroyed, Attis tore from the bed and ran screaming from Pessinos to the forest, where in self hatred he ripped from himself the parts which made him a man.
With such self-hatred and brutality did Attis emasculate himself that the heavens shook and even Cybele was unable to withhold compassion. As her beloved Attis lay dying in the grisly pool that flowed from his loins, she reached out, changing him from the flesh of a man to the bark of a pine. Droplets of the blood of Attis fell upon the forest floor, and became violets growing beneath the shady trees.
And so stood the tree of Attis in the woods for ages and ages, his call echoing through the forest. The call of Attis was so strong that even to this day, on the spring equinox, men from the village near the wood dance around the tree in a frenzy, until one youth slices away his manhood and joins the culthood of Cybele.
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Click on the term for the full citation
| Attis |
(Attis) |
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The phrygian god of vegetation, Attis was the beloved consort of Cybele. |
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| Cybele |
(Attis) |
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The goddess of fertility and vegetation in ancient Anatolia, Cybele is best known for her maddening of Attis. |
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| Sangarius |
(Attis) |
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The river god in the city of Pessonos. |
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