Galli and the Cult of Cybele: A Mini-Essay

     Between 218 B.C.E. and 201 B.C.E., the Second Punic War brought a unique cult to the Roman Empire.[1] The conflict introduced Romans to the mythology of Asia Minor and its legend of Cybele captivated a select few. As lore maintains, Cybele’s excessive love for her son, Attis, drove the man mad and, rather than marry another woman, Attis, during a psychotic break, castrated himself and pledged his alliance to his overbearing mother.[2] Roman fascination with the myth prompted the Cult of Cybele and the erection of a temple on the grounds which are the current site for Saint Peter’s Basilica.[3] Although the introduction of a new religious sect was nothing new to Roman society, the behavior of its followers, known as galli, were cause for concern. Following in Attis’ footsteps, galli pledged their devotion to the goddess Cybele and, in a celebration known as the Day of Blood, danced through the streets of Rome, severed their testicles with a knife, and threw the castrated items into the nearest home, where the residents gifted the galli with women’s clothing to wear as they spent the remainder of their lives as cross-dressing eunuchs who tended to the temple of Cybele.[4] The religious practice drew strong ire from many Roman citizens and the conduct of the galli was repeatedly mocked by individuals who felt their behavior was too bizarre – even by Roman standards.[5] In fact, the Roman Senate established strict legislature which forbade citizens from being anything more than spectators in the Day of Blood.[6] Despite these efforts to squelched the trend, the cult maintained its strength until it was dispersed in the fourth century, C.E., by the rise of Christianity.[7]

Works Referenced

Friedman, David. A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis. New York: The Free Press, 2001.

Stevenson, Walter. “The Rise of Eunuchs in Greco-Roman Antiquity.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 5.4 (1995): 485-511.

Taylor, Gary. Castration: An Abbreviated History of Western Manhood. New York: Routledge, 2001.
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[1] Friedman, 30.
[2] Friedman, 30.
[3] Friedman, 30.
[4] Stevenson, 485-511.
[5] Taylor, 140.
[6] Friedman, 32-33.
[7] Friedman, 30.