Agdistis

Agdistis (Ancient Greek: Ἄγδιστις) is a deity of Greek, Roman, and Anatolian mythology who has both male and female reproductive organs. They were closely associated with the Phrygian goddess Cybele.[1]

For plume moth genus, see Agdistis (moth).

Phrygian statue of Kybele/Agdistis from the mid-6th century BCE at or near Hattusa

Agdistis’ androgyny was seen as a symbol of wild and uncontrollable nature that the other gods perceived as a threat, leading to their destruction.[2]: 20, 92 

Mythology

There are at least two origin stories for Agdistis. According to Pausanias, Zeus unknowingly fathered Agdistis, a superhuman being who was both man and woman, with Gaia. In other versions, there was a rock called Agdo, which Gaia slept upon. Zeus impregnated Gaia there and she later gave birth to Agdistis.[3]

Other myths concern other gods' fear of the androgynous Agdistis. In one, god Dionysus or Liber, put a sleeping potion in Agdistis' drinking well. In Dionysus versions of the myth, after Agdistis had fallen asleep, Dionysus tied their foot to their penis with a rope. When Agdistis awoke and stood up, they ripped their penis off, emasculating themself.[3] According to these sources blood from this incident fell to the earth and an almond[lower-alpha 1] tree grew from where it landed; Arnobius tells that purple violets sprang from the blood instead.[4]

In almond-tree versions of the myth, Nana, daughter of a river-god Sangarius, was gathering fruit from this tree and stored some in her bosom, where they disappeared and made her pregnant with Attis[5]: vii. 17. § 7.9-13 [lower-alpha 2]. After giving birth to Attis, Nana abandoned him and human foster parents took in the infant.

As an adult, Attis was of such extraordinary beauty that the now conventionally female Agdistis fell in love with him, despite being his blood father. However, his foster parents intended him to become the husband of the daughter of the king of Pessinus, and he accordingly went to the Pessinian royal court.[lower-alpha 3]

When the marriage song commenced, Agdistis appeared in full glory, and all the wedding guests were instantly driven mad, causing both Attis and the king of Pessinus to castrate themselves and the bride to cut off her breasts. Agdistis then repented her deed and obtained from Zeus the promise that the body of Attis would not decompose.

This is the most prevalent account of an otherwise mysterious affair, and the interpretation of this myth is often debated, particularly how it relates to ancient gender changes and sexuality. Some tellers add geographic details: Pausanias mentions a hill in Phrygia named "Agdistis", at the foot of which Attis was reportedly buried.[5]: i. 4. § 5 [lower-alpha 4]

Cult of Agdistis

The correspondences and distinctions between Agdistis and the Phrygian great mother goddess Cybele are unclear:

Although primarily an Anatolian deity, the cult of Agdistis covered a wide geographical area from Egypt to Crimea.

Their cult was found in the mid-Aegean islands and the mainland Greek city of Piraeus as early as the 3rd–4th century BC. From there, it spread to Attica and Rhamnous, where a sanctuary to Agdistis was built.[9] It reached Egypt by 250 BC. Inscriptions honoring them have been found on Crete at Paros and in the mainland and coastal Anatolia. Evidence of the cult has been found in Sardis, where inscriptions found as early as the 4th century BC indicate that priests of Zeus were not permitted to take part in the mysteries of Agdistis. Inscriptions honor the deity at Mithymna. In the 1st century BC, their shrine in Philadelphia, Anatolia, required a strict code of behavior. At that location and others they are found with sister deities ("theoi soteres").[10]

Additionally, Agdistis' cult was found in far-off Panticapeum, on the eastern shore of Crimea, and at the Greek island of Lesbos, after 80 BC.

There is epigraphic evidence that in some places Agdistis was considered a healing deity of a wholly benevolent nature.[2]

In an attempt to understand the contradictory representations and syncretism of the Anatolian mother goddesses, scholars have hypothesized that Agdistis is part of a continuum of androgynous Anatolian deities, including an ancient Phrygian deity probably named Andistis and one called Adamma, stretching back to the ancient kingdom of Kizzuwatna in the 2nd millennium BC.

See also
  1. In some accounts, the tree and its gathered fruit is a pomegranate.
  2. In some versions, Attis was born directly out of the almond.[3]
  3. In some versions, the king betrothed Attis to his daughter to punish Attis for his incestuous relationship with his father, the now-female Agdistis.[2]
  4. A somewhat different story is given by Arnobius, in which Attis is beloved by both Agdistis and Cybele.[2][6]

References
  1. Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Agdistis". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 67.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Lancellotti, Maria Grazia (2002). Attis, between Myth and History: King, priest, and god. Amsterdam: Brill. pp. 20, 92. ISBN 90-04-12851-4.
  3. Turner, Patricia (ed.). "Agdistis". Dictionary of Ancient Deities. Vol. 1. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 24.
  4. Arnobius 5.7
  5. Pausanias. Description of Greece.
  6. Arnobius. Adversus Gentes. ix. 5. § 4; comp. Mimic. Felix, 21
  7. Hesychius of Alexandria, s.v.
  8. Strabo. [no title cited]. xii. p. 567; comp. x. p. 469
  9. Gasparro, Giulia Sfameni (1985). Soteriology and Mystic Aspects in the Cult of Cybele and Attis. Amsterdam: Brill Publishers. p. 34. ISBN 90-04-07283-7.
  10. Walton, Francis Redding (1996). "Agdistis". In Hornblower, Simon (ed.). Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Wikisource has the text of the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology's article about Agdistis.
  • The dictionary definition of Agdistis at Wiktionary
  • "Agdistis". Greek mythology. Mythology Index (mythindex.com). Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  • "Agdistis". Greek mythology. Hellenica (mlahanas.de). Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. — information about Greece and Cyprus
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