Agdistis
Hermaphroditic deity linked to Cybele and Attis.
Agdistis is a deity from Greek, Roman, and Anatolian mythology, born a hermaphrodite with both male and female reproductive organs. The deity is closely associated with the Phrygian goddess Cybele.
Quick Facts
- Mythological origin
- Born from Zeus's semen spilled on the earth
- Primary cult center
- Pessinus
- Associated figure
- Attis
- Alternate spelling
- Angdistis
- Geographic spread
- Anatolia
- Aegean islands
- mainland Greece
- Crimea
- Egypt
Facts from the source article.
Mythology
According to a story told by the people of Pessinus and recorded by Pausanias, Zeus spilled semen on the earth while asleep, which eventually produced a deity with both male and female sexual organs named Agdistis. The other gods, fearing Agdistis, cut off the male genitalia, from which an almond tree grew. The daughter of the river-god Sangarius picked an almond, placed it in her bosom, and became pregnant, giving birth to Attis. Attis was abandoned, cared for by a male goat, and grew into a beautiful youth. Agdistis fell in love with Attis, but when Attis was sent to marry the king's daughter, Agdistis appeared and drove both Attis and the king mad, causing them to castrate themselves. Attis died from his wound, and Agdistis, repenting, persuaded Zeus that Attis's body should never decay. A mountain at Pessinus was called Mount Agdistis, and Attis was said to be buried there. Another version by Timotheus, as recounted by Arnobius, tells of a rock called Agdus from which the Great Mother was fashioned. Jupiter desired intercourse with her but instead let his seed fall upon the rock, from which Agdistis was born.
Association with Cybele
Agdistis's story originates from Pessinus, a cultic center of Cybele, where the two goddesses were identified according to Strabo. Even when considered distinct, as in Arnobius's account, they are closely associated, with Agdistis often seen as a doublet of the Great Mother. The accounts of Agdistis revolve around Attis, the young consort of Cybele and prototype of her eunuch priesthood, serving as an aition for why Cybele's priests were eunuchs. In Arnobius's version, both Agdistis and Cybele love Attis, enter the closed city, disrupt the wedding, and mourn his death together. A notable difference is Agdistis's androgynous nature.
Cult
Agdistis's main cultic center was the sacred city of Pessinus, from which her cult spread to other parts of Anatolia, Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, mainland Greece, Crimea, and Egypt. An inscription from Iconium invokes Agdistis alongside Apollo and Artemis as savior gods. An altar at Sizma represents both Agdistis and the Great Mother. A religious community at Lydian Philadelphia enforced a strict moral code at a sanctuary of Agdistis. A decree from Sardis forbids priests of Zeus from attending the mysteries of Agdistis. Her name appears on a dedication from Methymna on Lesbos and on a marble base from Paros. Evidence of her cult in mainland Greece includes a relief of Agdistis and Attis from the Metroon in the Piraeus, with a votive dedication reading Timothea to Angdistis and Attis. A public decree indicates she had a sanctuary at Rhamnous. Her name also appears on a dedication from Panticapaeum in Crimea and in an Egyptian inscription recording the construction of a temple during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus.
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