Early Christian Views on the Great Mother

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

49. But the Great Mother, also, says my opponent, being summoned from Phrygian Pessinus in precisely the same way by command of the seers, was a cause of safety and great joy to the people.

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Supporting witness

and they refer these mysteries to the mother of the gods, and along with each of those whom you esteem gods there is painted a serpent, a great symbol and mystery.

Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness

...s dashed out of the cymbals of the Corybantes so that the father may not hear the infant's wailing. Cybele of Dindymus—I am ashamed to speak of it—could not entice her adulterous lover, who unhappily pleased her, to lewdness, because she herself, as the mother of many gods, was ugly and old. So she mutilated him, no doubt so that she might make a god of the eunuch. Because of this story, the Galli also worship her by the punishment of their emasculated bodies. Certainly these things are not sacred rites, but tortures. And what about the very forms and appearances of the gods? Do they not show the contemptible and disgraceful character of your gods? Vulcan is a lame and crippled god. Apollo is smooth-faced after so many ages. Aesculapius is well bearded, although he is the son of Apollo, who is ever youthful. Neptune has sea-green eyes. Minerva has bluish-gray eyes. Juno has ox-eyes. Mercury has winged feet. Pan has hoofed feet. Saturn has feet in fetters. Janus indeed wears two faces, as if he might walk with looks turned back. Diana sometimes is a huntress, with her robe girded up high. And as the Ephesian, she has many fruitful breasts. And when she is shown as Trivia, she is

Tertullian, Ad Nationes Supporting witness

It was not enough that you had insolently made a profit from your gods, if we test how great your contempt is. You are not content to withhold honor from them. You must also lower the little you do give them by adding some insult to it. What, indeed, do you do to honor your gods that you do not also offer to your dead? You build temples for the gods. You also build temples for the dead. You build altars for the gods. You also build them for the dead. You write the same inscription over both. You shape the same features for their statues, as best fits their nature, or profession, or age. You make Saturn an old man, Apollo a beardless young man, Diana a virgin, Mars a soldier, and Vulcan a blacksmith. No wonder, then, if you kill the same victims and burn the same odors for your dead as you do for your gods. What excuse can be found for that insolence which ranks the dead of every kind as equal with the gods? Even your princes are given the services of priests and sacred ceremonies, and chariots, and cars, and the honors of the solisternia and the lectisternia, holidays and games. Rightly enough, since heaven is open to them. Still, it is no less insulting to the gods. First, because

Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness

...it, in regard to the conquest of her native land by Greece. Why, even in these very days, the Mater Magna has given a notable proof of the greatness she has granted to the city as a gift. After the State lost Marcus Aurelius at Sirmium, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of April, her most sacred high priest, a week later, was offering impure libations of blood drawn from his own arms. And he was giving orders that the usual prayers should be made for the safety of the emperor who was already dead. O tardy messengers. O sleepy dispatches. Through their fault Cybele did not know earlier of the emperor's death, and so the Christians had an opportunity to ridicule so unworthy a goddess. Jupiter, too, surely would never have allowed his own Crete to fall at once before the Roman fasces, forgetting that Idean cave, the Corybantian cymbals, and the sweet odor of her who nursed him there. Would he not have raised his own tomb above the whole Capitol, so that the land that covered the ashes of Jove might rather be mistress of the world? Would Juno have desired the destruction of the Punic city, beloved even to the neglect of Samos, and that by a nation of descendants of Aeneas? Abo

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness

And if you speak of the mother of those who are called gods, far be it from me to utter with my lips her deeds, or the deeds of those by whom she is worshipped (for it is unlawful for us so much as to name such things), and what vast taxes and revenues she and her sons furnish to the king.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

to whom the great mother was bound in marriage;

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

from which this Great Mother, too, as she is called, was fashioned along with the others, and animated by the deity.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

... insulting him, and bring hatred and dislike on you, along with unforgiving anger? You say that the mother of the gods was produced from the stones that Deucalion and Pyrrha threw. What are you saying, O theologians? What are you saying, you priests of the heavenly powers? Then did the mother of the gods not exist at all except because of the flood? And would there have been no cause or beginning of her birth if violent rainstorms had not swept away the whole human race? Then it is through man that she knows herself to exist, and she owes it to Pyrrha's kindness that she finds herself spoken of as a real being. But if that is really true, then this too must necessarily be true: she was human, not divine. For if it is certain that men originally sprang from the throwing of stones, it must also be believed that she too was one of us, since she was produced by the same causes. For it cannot be so; nature would not allow it. From one kind of stones, and by the same act of throwing them, some cannot be formed to rank among the immortals, while others have the condition of men. Varro, that famous Roman, distinguished by the breadth of his learning and tireless in his study of ancient

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

...erva is the moon, and he proves it by the authority of learned men. Others have said that this same goddess is the depth and highest reach of the sky. Some have claimed that she is memory, and that even her name, Minerva, came from that, as if she were some goddess of memory. But if this is believed, then there is no daughter of Mens, no daughter of Victory, no discoverer of the olive, born from the head of Jupiter, and no goddess skilled in the knowledge of the arts and in different branches of learning. They say that Neptune received his name and title because he covers the earth with water. If, then, this name means the waters spread out, then there is no god Neptune at all. And so the full brother of Pluto and Jupiter is taken away and removed from us, he who is armed with the iron trident, lord of fish great and small, king of the depths of the sea, and the one who shakes the trembling earth.

Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness

Cybele of Dindymus — I am ashamed to speak of it — who could not entice her adulterous lover, who unhappily was pleasing to her, to lewdness, because she herself, as being the mother of many gods, was ugly and old, mutilated him, doubtless that she might make a god of the eunuch.

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness

The mother of the gods herself, while she lived in Phrygia after the banishment and death of her husband, though a widow, and aged, was enamoured of a beautiful youth;

Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness

Why, too, even in these days the Mater Magna has given a notable proof of her greatness which she has conferred as a boon upon the city;

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...fallen into such contempt that it was mocked by the most shameful names? Who would not laugh at the goddess Fornax, or rather at the fact that learned men are busy celebrating the Fornacalia? Who can keep from laughing when he hears of the goddess Muta? They say that she is the goddess from whom the Lares were born, and they call her Lara, or Larunda. What help can she give to a worshipper, when she is unable to speak? Caca is also worshipped. She told Hercules about the theft of his oxen, and gained immortality by betraying her brother. Cunina is worshipped too, who protects infants in the cradle and keeps off witchcraft. So is Stercutus, who first introduced the method of manuring the land, and Tutinus, before whom brides sit as an introduction to the marriage rites, and a thousand other inventions. So those who regarded these as objects of worship may be said to be more foolish than the Egyptians, who worship certain monstrous and ridiculous images. These, however, have some form and shape. What shall I say of those who worship a rough and shapeless stone under the name of Terminus? This is the one whom Saturnus is said to have swallowed in place of Jupiter, and the honor pai

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

Pellonia is a goddess said to be powerful in driving back enemies. But whose enemies, tell me, if you please? Opposing armies meet and fight hand to hand, and by that fighting they decide the battle. One side is hostile to this side, and the other side is hostile to that one. So whom will Pellonia drive into flight, since there is fighting on both sides? Or toward whom will she lean in favor, since she ought to give to both sides the strength and help of her name? But if she really did that, that is, if she gave her goodwill and favor to both sides, she would destroy the meaning of her name, which was formed with respect to driving one side back. But perhaps you will say, "She is the goddess of the Romans only, and because she stands only with the Quirites, she is always ready to help them kindly." We certainly wish that were so, because we like the name. But it is very doubtful. What then? Do the Romans have gods only for themselves, gods who do not help other nations? And how can they be gods if they do not use their divine power fairly toward all nations everywhere? And where, I ask you, was this goddess Pellonia long ago when the honor of the nation was brought under the yoke a

Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness

I do not maintain the mother of the gods, For the gods maintain her.

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

On account of these and such like reasons, these constantly attend the mysteries called those of the Great Mother, supposing especially that they behold by means of the ceremonies performed there the entire mystery.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

The Great Mother, too, adorned with her sacred fillets, is represented by dancing;

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

For antecedent to the Eleusinian mysteries, there are (enacted) in Phlium the orgies of her denominated the Great (Mother).

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Background

Mode of Celebrating the Mysteries; The Mystery of the Great Mother;

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

Stay away from all pagan books. What do you have to do with such foreign teachings, laws, or false prophets that overthrow the faith of unstable people? What lack do you find in the law of God, that you should turn to those pagan fables? If you want to read history, you have the books of the Kings. If you want books of wisdom or poetry, you have the books of the Prophets, Job, and Proverbs. In them you will find greater depth of understanding than in all the pagan poets and sophists, because these are the words of the Lord, the only wise God. If you want something to sing, you have the Psalms. If you want the origin of things, you have Genesis. If you want laws and statutes, you have the glorious law of the Lord God. Therefore, completely stay away from all strange and diabolical books. No, when you read the law, do not think that you are required to keep the added precepts, if not all of them, then even some of them. Read those only for the sake of history, so that you may know them and glorify God that He has delivered you from so great and so many bonds. Aim to distinguish which rules came from the law of nature, and which were added afterward, or were additional rules introduce

Tertullian, De Spectaculis (On the Shows) Supporting witness

...gin, belongs to Egyptian superstition. The gathering of demons would be joyless without their Mater Magna, and so she presides there over the Euripus. Consus, as we have mentioned, lies hidden underground at the Murcian Goals. These two came from an idol. For they say that Murcia is the goddess of love, and at that spot they have dedicated a temple to her. See, Christian, how many impure names have taken possession of the circus. You have nothing to do with a sacred place inhabited by such crowds of diabolic spirits. And since I am speaking about places, this is a fitting time to say something ahead of a point that some will raise. What then, you say? Will I be in danger of pollution if I go to the circus when the games are not being held? There is no law forbidding the places themselves to us. For not only places where shows are gathered, but even temples, may be entered by the servant of God without any danger to his religion, if he only has an honest reason for going, one not connected with their proper business and official duties. Why, even the streets and the marketplace, and the baths, and the taverns, and even our own homes, are not completely free from idols. Satan and

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

the mother of the gods, with her timbrel;

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness

For because the Corybantes then drowned the cry of the boy by the tinkling of their helmets and the striking of their shields, a representation of this circumstance is now repeated in the sacred rites;

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness

The sacred rites of the mother of the gods also show the same thing.

Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness

Such rites the Phrygians perform in honour of Attis and Cybele and the Corybantes.

Revelation 17:5 Background

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Acts 19:27 Background

So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

Acts 19:35 Background

And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

Revelation 12:1 Background

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Acts 19:28 Background

Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

Genesis 3:20 Background

And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Jeremiah 7:18 Background

The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.

Jeremiah 44:19 Background

And the women said, “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Ezekiel 8:14 Background

Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

Isaiah 57:5 Background

Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks?

Letter of Jeremiah 1:30 Background

For how can they be called gods? because women set meat before the gods of silver, gold, and wood.

1 Kings 11:6 Background

and to Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians.