Attis
Attis ( Greek Ἄττις , from Phrygian attis , "beautiful boy" and / or Attagus , "buck") is the son of the river nymph Nana in Greek and Phrygian mythology , whom she received from the seed of an almond tree .
Due to the Phrygian origin of the stories about Attis and their adoption in both Greek and Lydian stories, there are several versions of his story - and a prehistory:
The almond tree arose from the blood that fell to earth with the emasculation of the bisexual being Agdistis or from his male sexual organ, which it had torn from itself when it was tied to a tree by Dionysus with a rope made of braided hair. Nana fell a fruit from the rapidly growing tree into her lap, which she hid in it, and as punishment for this "improper behavior" she was imprisoned by her father, the river god Sangarios , to die of hunger. The Great Mother Cybele - as Agdistis was now also called after the emasculation - provided her with fruits and jelly until she gave birth to Attis. However, this was abandoned by Sangarios after his birth, raised by a billy goat with buck milk and grew into a beautiful youth.
Agdistis / Cybele fell in love with them with great passion. When Attis was about to marry the daughter of Midas , king of Pessinus , Agdistis / Cybele appeared at the wedding and drove Attis insane so that he emasculated himself. Violets emerged from the blood that dripped onto the floor . In contrast to Agdistis, Attis himself did not survive his emasculation or turned into the evergreen pine tree under which he had committed this act with the cry “You, Agdistis!”.
When Cybele, filled with grief and remorse, beating her drum, walked through Phrygia, a famine ensued, whereupon an oracle was asked for advice by the Phrygians. They now had to bury Attis and accept Cybele as their deity, although only eunuchs were permitted as priests of Cybeles in order to preserve the memory of Attis. Cybele is said to have resurrected Attis from death and to have been worshiped with him throughout Phrygia.
According to other versions, at the request of Agdistis / Cybeles to bring the youth back to life , Zeus could only ensure that his body did not rot, his hair kept growing and his little finger remained mobile. For the meaning of the myth s. Cybele .
In the Roman cult of the dead, Attis was depicted on gravestones to symbolize the mourning for the deceased.
Catullus gives his version of the myth in his poem 63 (“ Super alta vectus Attis celeri rate maria ”).
Photo gallery
Bronze figure of Attis, found in Tongeren (Belgium), Gallo-Roman Museum (Tongeren)
Attis with flowing hair as a sun youth .
Dancing Attis, with legs knotted in Asia.
See also
literature
- Franz Cumont : Attis 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Col. 2247-2252.
- Hugo Hepding : Attis, his myths and his cult , Giessen 1903.
- Maarten J. Vermaseren : Corpus Cultus Cybela Attitisque . 7 volumes. Brill, Leiden 1977-1989.
- Maarten J. Vermaseren: The cult of Cybele and Attis in Roman Germania , Stuttgart 1979.
