What is Agdistis?
[[File:Museum_of_Anatolian_Civilizations065.jpg|thumb|150px|Statue of Agdistis-Cybele from Phrygia, 6th century BC]] In [[Anatolia]]n, [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology]], '''Agdistis''' was a [[hermaphrodite|hermaphroditic]] being, and symbolized the wild and uncontrolled powers of [[nature]]. She is the personification of a mountain of the same name in Phrygia. ==Mythology== She was born after [[Zeus]] accidentally impregnated the [[earth]] goddess [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]. The gods feared Agdistis because she held all the [[power]]s of [[creation]] within her body. [[Dionysus]] tricked her into castrating herself, and from then on she was known as the goddess [[Cybele]]. The blood from her severed gentials fertilized the earth, and from that spot an almond tree grew. One day the [[nymph]] Nana picked an almond from the tree, and held it against her chest, the almond vanished and she became pregnant with [[Attis]]. ==Cult== Some ancient writers say Agdistis is the same as Cybele, and worshiped under that name. In many ancient inscriptions, Agdistis is clearly separate from Cybele, but in many others she is listed as an epithet of Cybele. Although primarily an Anatolian goddess, the cult of Agdistis covered a lot of territory. By 250 BC it had spread to [[Egypt]], and later to [[Attica]], Rhamnus around 80 BC (where there was a sanctuary of Agdistis), and later in [[Lesbos]] and Panticapeum. {{religion-stub}} [[Category:Greek gods and goddesses]] [[Category:Roman gods and goddesses]]