The celebration of Cybele: the festive cycle dedicated to the Great Mother of Gods in the Milesian colonies of the Propontis and Pontus Euxinus
The celebration of Cybele: the festive cycle dedicated to the Great Mother of Gods in the Milesian colonies of the Propontis and Pontus Euxinus

Summary/Abstract: The study here discusses the festive cycle dedicated to Cybele in the Milesian colonies located on the shores of the Propontis and Pontus Euxinus. Literary sources, epigraphic documents and iconographic representations satisfactorily document the festive cycle dedicated to the Great Mother of Gods worshipped as a deity of field fertility and fruitful nature. The Metroa celebrations held in honour of Cybele and Attis have a long continuing tradition, from the 6th century BC until the first half of the 3rd century AD. Literary sources and epigraphic documents supply brief information on the various ritual practices specific to the Metroa celebration: the ritual vigil (pannychis), the ritual bath of the goddess’s cult statue (lavatio), the procession of the cannophori (15th March), the procession of the sacred tree (22nd March). During the Roman period, the Great Mother of Gods was honoured in the Milesian colonies according to the Greek tradition.

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