Marof

Visit the monument of the Cybele and Apollo cult

Only one hundred metres from our homestead, there is an unusual monument made of Pohorje marble.

Carefully crafted reliefs are featured on two sides of the monument:

  • the front side features an ornate frame with the attributes of Attis and Cybele (together they represented the life-giving power of nature and its ability to regenerate),
  • and the left side features the attributes of Apollo.

These reliefs attract special attention due to the unusual symbolic value of the items used. This raises some questions related to the worship of pre-Christian deities and to the settlement of this area in Roman times.

The myth of Cybele and Attis

According to the well-known myth of Cybele, goddess of fertility and giver of life, and Attis, a young shepherd who Cybele falls in love with, Cybele took reason away from Attis because he was unfaithful, and in his insanity, Attis mutilated himself. Attis represented the symbol of the creation and destruction of life in nature, so in some places he was also called the “cut blade of wheat.”

Ogled spomenika Kibelinega in Apolonovega kulta