Cybele's Journey
From Barmaid to Mother Goddess
Figure 2. Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük
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The cult of the mother goddess can be traced back to the 6th millennium BC. At the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük a figurine has been found of a mother goddess. It depicts a very corpulent woman seated on her throne giving birth resting her hands on two catlike animals probably leopards. The iconography resembles the image of Cybele and her lions. The cult was adopted by Hurrian and later by the Hittite civilization in Anatolia.
The name Cybele has a separate history. The first time Cybele is mentioned is in the Sumerian King List as Kug-Bau. Where she is portrayed as a barmaid who became queen of Kish and ruled for a hundred years during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. The oldest version of the Sumerian King List is dated around 2000 BC. In the second millennium BC Kug-Bau seems to be deified by the Babylonians. She is mentioned in the Babylonian chronicle Ruin of the Esagila as Kubaba where she is also portrayed as a barmaid and according to the chronicle it was the Babylonian god Marduk who made here queen. |
It seems that the Phrygians (1200-700 BC) and other successor states of the Hittite empire, have continued the cult of the mother goddess and fused it together with the name Kubaba creating the cult of Mater Kubeleya. An important element of the Phyrgian Kubeleya is that she is associated with hunting and she is often depicted with a bird of prey. Besides a bird of prey she is also depicted holding a cup.
The spread of the cult between the 6th millennium and 7th century BC can be visualised by archaeological evidence. Map 3 displays all the places where archaeologists have found evidence for the worship of Cybele. We can see that the Cybele cult was scattered around Central and Southern Anatolia and in the northern parts of Mesopotamia. |
Figure 3. Relief of the Phrygian Mother 7th century BC
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Figure 4. Sketch made of the Phygrian mother. Clearly depicted with cup and bird of prey
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Figure 5. Statue of Cybele from the 4th century BC holding a tympanum in her left hand
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In the 7th century BC the Phrygian kingdom falls and the territory of Phrygia is incorporated into the Lydian kingdom. In the 7th century BC Lydia extended its influence over the Greek poleis in Western Anatolia and conquered all the Greek poleis during the reign of Croesus (r. 560-546 BC). In the 6th century BC Cybele reached the Greek cities of Western Anatolia. From there the cult reached the Greek mainland. Maps 4 to 7 display the spread of Cybele from the 6th to the 3rd century BC. When the cult reaches Greece it is also immediately transported to the Greek colonies in Southern Italy, Crimea and the colony of Massalia.
The Greeks called the cult Meter Kybele and changed a few aspects. The Phrygian Kubeleya seems to have functioned as a protector of gates and boundaries. This is adapted by the Greeks and applied to cities. The Phyrgian Kubeleya had a lot of animal companions and the lion was one of them. The Phyrgian mother goddess was often depicted with a bird of prey but this completely disappears in the Greek iconography. Instead the lion becomes the main animal depicted with Cybele. This is not the only change in the iconography of Cybele. Cybele is often portrayed in the Greek iconography holding a tympanum, hand drum, in her left hand. For the Greeks this was an important marker for foreign gods. |
Map 4. Spread of Cybele until the 6th century BC (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
Map 6. Spread of Cybele until the 4th century BC (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
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Map 5. Spread of Cybele until the 5th century BC (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
Map 7. Spread of Cybele until the 3rd century BC (map made with Palladio andbased on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
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The Romans also made a few changes. The cult of Cybele changed into an urban cult. Cybele continued to be associated as protector of cities but she was mainly a protector of the city of Rome. But the most important change the Romans added was her association with fertility. Figure 6 displays a statue of Cybele from around 50 AD. In her right hand she holds a bunch of wheat and poppy heads symbolising her role as the goddess of agriculture.
According to Roman sources Cybele came to Rome in 204 B.C. But there has been a statue found in Rome dating from the 5th century BC. So Cybele was already known before 204 BC. In the 6th century BC Cybele reached the Greek colonies of Southern Italy and probably through contacts between Rome and the Greek colonies Cybele reached Rome in the 5th century BC. Maps 8 to 13 display the spread of Cybele after the 3rd century BC. Only in the 1st century BC the cult spreads to Hispania and North-Africa. In the 1st century AD it spreads to Gaul and Germania. In the 2nd century AD Britain and Dacia are the last regions to be conquered by Cybele. Map 14 displays all the archaeological finds concerning the worship of Cybele dated and undated. |
Figure 6. Statue of a seated Cybele around 50 AD. With lion sitting at her feat and holding in her right hand a bunch of wheat and poppy heads
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Map 8. Spread of Cybele until the 2nd century BC (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
Map 10. Spread of Cybele until the 1st century AD (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
Map 12. Spread of Cybele until the 3rd century AD (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
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Map 9. Spread of Cybele until the 1st century BC (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
Map 11. Spread of Cybele until the 2nd century AD (map made with Palladio and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
Map 13. Spread of Cybele until the 4th century AD (map made with Palladio and and based on Vermaseren, 1977-1989)
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