Cybele

Cybele (called also Agdistis and Dindymene), an ancient goddess whose worship was universal in Phrygia, and widely spread in Western Asia as that of 'the great mother' or 'the mother of the gods.' She seems to have been a nature divinity, whose worship was attended with wild orgiastic rites, many of which were adopted by the Greeks from the eastern nations. The Greeks, moreover, identified the oriental Cybele with their ancient earth goddess Rhea, whose worship seems to have originated in Crete, where she is associated with the Curetes. Among the Romans she was considered as identical with Ops, the wife of Saturn, and mother of Jupiter. In Phrygia her priests were the Corybantes, who worshipped her noisily with drums, cymbals, and horns, dressed in full armour. The Roman priests of Cybele were often called Galli. In art Cybele is usually represented seated on a throne, adorned with a mural crown, with lions crouching to the right and left, or sitting in a car drawn by lions. See RHEA.