Attis

Attis (; , also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology. His priests were eunuchs, the Galli, as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian vegetation deity. His self-mutilation, death, and resurrection represents the fruits of the earth, which die in winter only to rise again in the spring. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Attis transformed himself into a pine tree. No connection to the god Atys Nineteenth century scholarship wrongly identified the god Attis with the similar-sounding name of the god Atys. The name "Atys" is often seen in ancient Aegean cultures; it was mentioned by Herodotus, however Herodotus was describing Atys, the son of Croesus, a human in a historical account. The 19th century conflation of the man Atys's name with the mythology of the god he was presumably named after, "Atys the sun god, slain by the boar's tusk of winter", and hence a connection to similar-sounding Attis was a mistake, but the long-standing error is still found in modern sources.