The Strange Journey of a Blood-Soaked Mother Goddess

Cybele’s transformation from wild mountain mother to Roman matriarch

Her name was Cybele. She emerged from the dry plateaus of Asia Minor before 600 BCE, perhaps long before. She was a mother goddess — the mother of the gods, of people, and nature itself.

Because she was the mother of wild nature, her worshippers often depicted her with lions and celebrated her with abandon. She was demanding — her priests castrated themselves when they dedicated themselves to her, and…