The Artistic Connotations of Expressing the Castration Process Through the Depiction of Attis and the Followers of Cebele in the Roman Era

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Lecture of Greek and Roman Archaeology, Department of Archaeology Faculty of Arts, Tanta University

Abstract

Roman art provides us with numerous works that reflect sexual differences within the empire. In the myth of Hermaphroditus, for example – a child of Aphrodite and Hermes who embodies sexual ambiguity – was a young man with male genitals who nonetheless looked female. The Roman citizen saw gender fluidity as a breach of ethical and social criteria, and yet accepted the cult of Cybele and her follower Attis. This could only occurrence the cult had been modified and its offensive aspect – namely, the castration rite – removed. We can trace the changes that beset Attis after he entered Rome, how he was apotheosized and honored in Greece and Rome even before his birthplace, Phrygia, through the images produced of him and an analysis of specific examples of these as well as tracing the concept of castration in Roman art.

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References

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