< Cybele, daughter of Pallas >

1 Origin

In 1446 BC, Cybele was born near Mount Ida in Crete.

Cybele is presumed to be one of the Cabeirides, whose ancestors were Cadmilus.

2 Family

Cybele married Iasion, brother of Dardanus.

Iasion and Cybele had a son, Corybas.

3 Others

3.1 From Crete to Samothrace

In 1435 BC, Teucrus, the founder of the kingdom of Troy, migrated from Crete to Troad.

Cybele may have been among the Teucrus emigrants, along with Idaean Dactyls.

Cybele visited the islands around the Troad with the Idaean Dactyls, who were searching for mines, to spread the Cabeiri cult.

Cybele married Iasion, who had emigrated from Arcadia, at Samothrace.

3.2 Birth of the Samothrace Ritual

Chryse, wife of Iasion's brother Dardanus, brought the divinely ordained mysteries to Samothrace.

Iasion learned from his wife Cybele and sister-in-law Chryse and initiated the rituals at Samothrace.

3.3 From Samothrace to Troad

In 1420 BC, Samothrace was hit by a great tsunami, and Cybele was taken by Dardanus to the Troad.

Iasion and Chryse are presumed to have been victims of the tsunami.

3.4 Co-habitation with Teucrus

Teucrus founded and lived in Teucris in Troad.

Dardanus cohabited with Teucrus, but their intermediary was probably Cybele, who migrated with Teucrus from Crete.

3.5 Cybele's Deification

Later, Cybele and her son Corybas lived at the foot of Mount Ida; Cybele was revered by the people as a goddess, and Corybas called those who celebrated his mother's rites Corybantes and taught them to dance.

Cybele moved to Pessinus in Phrygia, where she came to be called "Mother of the Gods," "Mother of the Mountains," "Great Goddess of Phrygia," and so on.