The Sacred Hearth

The daemon Agdistis was an androgynous creature, who could bear children of its own making, with no help from another. Its powers of creature were unrivaled and its temper was unparalleled. The Gods of Olympus feared the harm it might cause and determined that it must be stopped.

Dionysus turned the water of a spring into wine, and when the daemon drank deeply, it became drunk and soon fell fast asleep. He crept up on it as it slumbered, and tied its male parts to its arms. When it awoke and stretched, the male parts were torn off and flung far into the air. Where they landed, an almond tree sprang up. The Daemon, thus emasculated, still powerful, was now an entirely female deity and She was called Cybele.

Years later, Nana, nymph of the Sangarius river, who had never known the touch of a man, came upon the almond tree and ate the fruit. Not long after, she bore a son. Frightened and confused, she abandoned him. But he did not die. His Father and Grandmother, the Goddess Cybele, the Great Mother Goddess, had seen all that had happened and, under her guidance, shepherds soon found the boy and cared for him to adulthood.

He was a beautiful youth, and the Goddess Cybele loved him dearly. She asked him to serve her by watching over her temple, making him promise that he should always devote himself only to her. He promised, willingly, for he was fond of her as well. “If I lie,” said he, “May the love for whom I break my faith be the last love of all.”

Time went by and Attis performed his duties well. One day, as he wandered alone in the peaceful wood, he came upon a dryad. She was the loveliest creature he had ever seen and after speaking with her awhile, he soon fell deeply in love with her. In the days that followed, he stole away to be with his newfound love as often as he could, no longer keeping his vow of celibacy, but always keeping his secret. But, one can’t keep secrets from a Goddess. Cybele knew what was going on from the starti.

One day, Cybele decided it had all gone on long enough, and she would put a stop to it. Striking the dryad’s tree, she struck the dryad a mortal blow. Attis arrived at his lover’s side too late and she died in his arms. He was driven mad with his sorrow and remorse and he remembered his promise. "This shall be the last love of all! No more shall my lust cause me to turn away from my promises!" and with that he castrated himself with a sharp rock. He fell to his knees at the foot of the tree, his arms around its trunk, and there he bled to death. Where his blood fell upon the ground, violets sprang up.

Cybele was, of course, heartbroken and overcome with guilt. The whole world felt her sorrow for the death of her son and lover. No one had ever felt such sorrow over death before, but now this sorrow was known to all and would never be forgotten. She buried him in a cave and for two days she mourned over his body and on the third went to beg the other Gods to help her bring him back. They refused, and so Cybele turned Attis into a pine tree and he lived thus thereafter for many years.