god
Magna Mater Idaea
the Idaean Mother
also: Idaeae Matris, Idaeae Matri
Cybele, the Great Mother of Mount Ida, whose Galli alone Cicero's law permits to collect alms, and then only on appointed days.
Reading notes
- On the Ends of Good and Evil §5.64 the best of men to receive the sacred objects of Ida
In 204 BC the Romans, on a Sibylline oracle, brought the sacred stone of the Great Mother (Cybele) from Mount Ida to Rome, choosing P. Scipio Nasica as the 'best man' to receive it. Cicero lists it among Rome's examples of disinterested honour.
- On the Laws §2.22 the Idaean Mother
Cybele, the Great Mother of Mount Ida, brought to Rome in 204 BC; her eunuch priests (the Galli) begged alms through the streets. Cicero's law permits public collection of alms only by her servants, and only on appointed days.