Sanctuaries of Cybele

Cave Sanctuary of Cybele in Miletus, under the great Theatre

A cave underneath the theatre of Miletus in western Turkey contains a spring and can be identified as an ancient sanctuary. It underwent two main building phases, both of which appear to be linked to building phases of the theatre, one Hellenistic and the other Roman. The cave contained terracotta figures and limbs that might have been votive offerings. 44 late antique oil lamps may also have been votives; they were buried inside the spring when the spring was filled in at the turn of the fifth century A.D. or soon thereafter.

The Theatre was built upon the Goddess' Cave Sanctuary

Cybele, in her most primal form, was venerated in Caves

Offering us a rebirth out of the womb and birth channel of the universial mother.

A Cave of for Rebirth

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' John 3:5-6

Hand Chiseled Niche

A shrine carved into the bedrock, as a home for the Goddess?

Cybele earilest forms of veneration

"Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük" figurine, often interpreted as a Mother Goddess representing fertility.

The archetypal und archaic Anatolian goddess, Cybele, was revered not only throughout Anatolia but also on the neighboring (modern day) Greek islands.

Evidence of her cult can still be seen today in the cave formations and niches carved into hillsides. Her great gift to humanity is the mystery of rebirth.

Many of these caves symbolize the birth canal and end in womb-like forms. On the island of Samos, for example, one enters the caves as if stepping back into the darkness of the womb—not of a biological mother and father, but of the Great Goddess of eternity.

During our journey through Anatolia, we will visit many such places—caves and rock niches where Cybele was likely venerated long before the appearance and unveiling of the many goddesses who later emerged in human consciousness, in our hearts and in our souls.