The Galli Priests of Cybele

Ancient Sexuality and Identity through Global Cultures

Christopher Cavanagh (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

256 Seiten

2026
Bloomsbury Academic (Verlag)
978-1-350-55103-9 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Juli 2026)
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Explores the Galli priests of the Roman cult of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess, focusing on archaeological evidence, and draws on comparative religious case studies from Polynesia, India and North America.

Presenting a study of the Galli priests of the Roman cult of Cybele, the Great Mother goddess, this book examines the archaeological evidence to give a clearer picture of the priesthood. The Galli were priests renowned in Antiquity for their crossdressing, mendicant, ecstatic behaviour and their infamous act of self-castration. However, most of our understanding of the Galli comes from an incomplete, fragmentary and scathing literary record. This book aims to rectify this imbalance by re-assessing them in light of the material evidence, and by comparing them with subsequent cultural groups.

Through the use of three comparative case studies from Polynesia, India and North America, this book analyses the ancient social group with these three modern ‘gender variant’ counterparts to highlight the ‘othered’ identity and experience of the Galli. The study reveals shared similarities regarding gendered ‘other’ attire, religious associations and sexual relationships. This approach offers a remarkable insight into the Galli cult, and poses questions on how similar human social groups operate, irrespective of time and place.

Christopher Cavanagh is a Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Chester, UK.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements

Introduction
Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Galli and Ancient Sexuality
Chapter 2: Comparing the Galli Archaeological Record – Latium/Anatolia
Chapter 3: The Hijra
Chapter 4: The Berdache/Two Spirit
Chapter 5: The Polynesian Mahu
Chapter 6: Comparing the Groups with the Galli Archaeological Data
Concluding Remarks

Bibliography
Appendices
Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	9.7.2026
Zusatzinfo	60 bw illus
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 234 mm
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Altertum / Antike
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Weitere Religionen
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	1-350-55103-1 / 1350551031
ISBN-13	978-1-350-55103-9 / 9781350551039
Zustand	Neuware