i always thought that aspect of cybele was interesting because  a) it provides a clear link between the vatican of today and ancient greece/rome/phoenicia (her tower-hat looks exactly like the pope's old multi-tier crown/mitre) b) the animals and tittays suggest a link even further back into neolithic times that evolved through mystery religions into modern religions- eg the cabiri/kaberoi mysteries of thrace where cybele evolved could actually be referring back to the type of animal/nature worship suggested by engravings at gobleki tepi and other similar sites. basically this image of cybele suggests to me an intermediate link between the modern world religion (eg, virgin mary with her mantle enclosing all life) and the very very old neolithic spirituality with cave paintings and burial mounds and the fat goddess statues interestingly when i was in malta last year i had the strong intuition at several points in the trip that the "old ways" were still practiced in secret, possibly by small groups of powerful citizens/initiates/families... "satanism" is just for the normies, i wonder if the actual elites practice something closer to the old rites passed down through the ages, or versions of them anyway... also i see that this cybele is greco-egyptian...man, greco-egyptian spirituality and the greco-buddhist art from along the silk road are just so interesting to me.
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