Atys
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Attis
Attis (ăˈtĭs) or Atys (āˈ–), in Phrygian religion, vegetation god. When Nana ate the fruit of the almond tree, which had been generated by the blood of either Agdistis or of Cybele, she conceived Attis. Later, Agdistis or Cybele fell in love with Attis, and so that none other would have him, she caused him to castrate himself. Like Adonis, Attis came to be worshiped as a god of vegetation, responsible for the death and rebirth of plant life. Each year at the beginning of spring his resurrection was celebrated in a festival. In Roman religion he became a powerful celestial deity.
Bibliography
See Sir J. G. Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris (1907, new ed. 1961).
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Atys
beloved of Cybele, who changed him into a pine tree as he was about to commit suicide. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 55]
See: Transformation
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.