Abstract

This study offers a transpersonal interpretation ofthe ancient cults of the Phrygian gods Great Mother Cybele and her lover Attis. Because of its contradictions, the classical interpretation of Frazer, who considered these mysteries to be magical cults offertility or agricultural cults, is rejected. The author prefers a transpersonal and psychological interpretation of the mysteries of Cybele and Attis as a cathartic act of spiritual death and rebirth closely related to the Basic Perinatal Matrixes described by Grof. The study analyzes in detail the cults of the suffering gods of the ancient Near East and compares the mysteries of the Phrygian gods with other contemporary cults