Tua, Mater, Initia : grecko-rzymskie misteria Attisa między religią a literaturą

The present paper analyzes the mysteries and cult of Attis as we know them from the Greek and (predominantly) Roman sources, dating from the Hellenistic and Imperial period. It seems reasonable to assume, as most scholars do, that the specific character of literary sources for the cult as well as the epigraphic material available to us, make a reliable reconstruction of Attis’ role in the mysteries of Magna Mater very difficult to evaluate. Attis in Greek and Roman sources seems to be consequently involved in two different sets of associations, one of them of a religious and ritual character (to a great extent inherited from the Phrygian tradition), the other consisting of literary and poetic allusions.