Cybele was the goddess of fertility and nature. She is
identified with Rhea, mother of the Olympian gods. Ceres and Magna
Mater. She was formed from a great black rock. Thus it
was that she was worshipped in the form of a sacred stone. This image
was brought to the Almo to be cleansed in an annual rite by the priests
of Cybele, Corybantes.
Her crown was in the shape of a city wall since she presided
over fortresses, as well as mountains and fields. The towers of the
city of Pessinus from which she had rescued Attis, a youth whom she loved.