28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite state’s gathering of small city kingdoms under its own rule was the foundation of the union that started in Anatolia.) There are many theories about this collapse. One of the most important of these is that there are climatic changes. We know how important sudden climate changes are in human life. States with agriculture-based economies such as Hittites cannot be expected to be unaffected by these changes. It has a great role not only in climate changes but also in problems such as the change of internal dynamics, political conflicts, and the northern neighbor Gashka / Kaska.

Following the collapse of the Hittite empire, many different ethnic groups came to Anatolia. Balkan / Thracian immigrants who started to come to Anatolia from the Balkans in this period draws attention. The that stand out from this ethnic group are Mysler, Bythins and Phrgy. The effects of these tribes are so decisive that the names of the regions in the middle and northwest of Anatolia were named after them in ancient times.

So, in general, what did the Phrygians we mentioned above believe? How were their religious beliefs?

The Phrgyys religion appears to be monotheistic at first sight. At the head of their religious belief is a goddess named “Matar”, that is, “Mother”. Although Matar is known by different names, it is mostly called Matar Kubilea, Matar Areyastin, Agdistis (Stone woman).

In fact, Matar Kubilea is not a foreign goddess to Anatolia. She is a known and respected goddess in Anatolia since the Early Neolithic age. It means abundance for Anatolia. Late Hittites named him Kubaba, Helenler Meter Magale and Kybele, Romans Magna Mater (Great Mother) they said.

For Phrygians, Matar Kubilea is a goddess of nature, ruler of foreign animals (Potnia Theron), protector of cities and young girls. Matar Kubilea sits on high mountains and cliffs for Phrygians. The name Kubilea means mountain in Phrygian / Phrygians. The Mother goddess, who has represented abundance in Anatolia since the Early Neolithic times, serves the same purpose in Phrygs. It has qualities that represent all vitality, abundance, and fertility in nature.

Since she is the only goddess shown as iconography in Phrygian works, it is not difficult to understand her importance at all. The mother goddess depicted in the reliefs has a high headdress (Polos) and long clothes on it. She stops in the doorway and a bird of prey in her hand is sometimes depicted with two lions.

In the spring, the Phrygs held special rituals for this goddess. For these rituals, they built open-air temples just like in Yazılıkaya (Boğazköy). If we want to count the most important of these, the ones in the Great Temple in Midas City and the Small Unfinished Temple, Arslankaya, Arezastis, Big and Small Kübi Rock, Bahşiş, Maltaş and Kumcaboğaz should be counted. It is still possible to see the mother goddess in long garments in these depictions shown in high relief techniques.

Located at the entrance of Büyükkale and having steps carved out of the rock in Midas city, the monument is the most beautiful altars built for the Mother Goddess. In some depictions of the mother goddess, two musicians are seen next to it.

The Phrygians probably acquired this belief after their friendship with Pipiris, one of the Late Hittite Kings, during the reign of Midas, also known as the great king. Maybe the reason why is adopted and loved so much is that these people of Thracian origin is to carry a breeze from the land come from.

Related Articles

Underwater Archaeologists Discover a 7,000-Year-Old Road in Croatia

8 May 2023

8 May 2023

A team of underwater archaeologists from the University of Zadar has discovered the sunken ruins of a 7,000-year-old road that...

The latest excavations in the ancient city of Dülük will shed light on the history of different religions

11 October 2021

11 October 2021

It is thought that the ancient city of Dülük, one of the 25 oldest settlements in the world, will shed...

An ancient necropolis and coins discovered in Kastel Fortress, a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina

11 November 2024

11 November 2024

During excavations at Kastel Fortress, the national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, students and professors of Archaeology and History found...

UK’s Oldest Hospice Discovered: Anglo-Saxon Monastery Unearthed in Cookham Reveals Early Medical Care

11 August 2025

11 August 2025

An extraordinary archaeological discovery in Cookham, Berkshire, is rewriting our understanding of healthcare in early medieval England. Unearthed behind the...

Archaeologists unearthed a pot of copper coins in first major discovery at Mohenjo Daro in Pakistan, in 93 years

18 November 2023

18 November 2023

A pot full of copper coins was discovered from a stupa (a dome-shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine) at...

Archaeologists discover a hidden Maya burial chamber in the walled enclosure of Tulum

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered a hidden Maya burial chamber concealed within a...

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology in Mediterranean

21 March 2024

21 March 2024

The discovery of five “technologically sophisticated” canoes in Italy has revealed that  Neolithic people were navigating the Mediterranean more than...

5,500-year-old Menhir discovered in Portugal

28 August 2023

28 August 2023

A 5,500-year-old (that is around 3500 BC) menhir has been discovered in the town of São Brás de Alportel in...

Archaeologists found a mysterious stone tablet in Georgia that contains an unknown language

5 December 2024

5 December 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a basalt tablet with inscriptions in an unknown language near Lake Bashplemi, in the Dmanisi region of...

Wildfire Uncovers Lost Biblical Village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee

16 August 2025

16 August 2025

In a surprising twist of fate, a wildfire that swept through Israel’s Betiha Nature Reserve in late July has unveiled...

A 4,500-year-old rope remains were discovered at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound

26 December 2021

26 December 2021

In the rescue excavation carried out in the mound, which is located within the license border of Çelikler Seyitömer Electricity...

Dominican mission discovers 1,305-meter Greco-Roman ancient rock-cut tunnel in Alexandria

4 November 2022

4 November 2022

A Greco-Roman tunnel measuring 1,305 meters in length was discovered beneath Tapuziris Magna, an Ancient Egyptian city, by an Egyptian-Dominican...

A well-preserved comb discovered in a 4th-century rare Alemannic chamber grave in Germany

4 September 2024

4 September 2024

During a rescue excavation in the center of the village of Gerstetten, located in the Heidenheim district of southwestern Germany,...

Vase for holy oil used by ‘hidden Christians’ in Japan

24 May 2023

24 May 2023

After the family that had passed it down through the generations permitted the artifact to be examined, a relic from...

A 2100-year-old inscription found İn Türkiye: Antiochos of Commagene calls on the people to ‘obey and respect the law’

15 March 2024

15 March 2024

The ancient inscription found near Kımıldağı (Kımıl Mount) in Önevler village of Adıyaman’s Gerger district in 2023 will shed light...