Attis and the Syrian goddess (1)

Text
pseudo-Lucian, De Dea Syria 15:
There is another sacred account, which I heard from a wise man, that the goddess is Rhea, and the sanctuary is a creation of Attis. Attis was a Lydian by birth, and he first taught rites pertaining to Rhea. All the rites which Phrygians, Lydians, and inhabitants of Samothrace perform, they learned from Attis. When Rhea castrated him, he ceased his male life style. He took on instead a feminine form and donned female clothing. He went out into every land, performed the rites, related his sufferings and sang the praises of Rhea. On these journeys he came to Syria. Since the men beyond the Euphrates accepted neither him nor the rites, he established the sanctuary in this place. Here is the proof: The goddess is similar in many ways to Rhea, for lions carry her, she holds a tympanum and wears a tower on her head, just as the Lydians depict Rhea. The wise man also said about the Galli who are in the temple, that Galli never castrate themselves for Hera, but they do for Rhea and they also imitate Attis. This explanation seems plausible to me but untrue, since I heard another reason for the castration which is much more believable.

Source (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
pseudo-Lucian, De Dea Syria 15

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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