I was reading Emperor Julian’s orations on Mithras and Cybele (and Attis) the other day and my mind eventually wandered to Kaneko’s depictions because… of course. So here you go: Mithras and Attis from Soul Hackers no Subete and Cybele from Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner World Guidance.
(Soul Hackers no Subete)
Sun god regarded as the saviour of Persia, mainly depicted as killing a bull. As a belligerent war god, he was cruel and merciless towards his enemies, but was also regarded as a granter of victory to his adherents.
There are a lot of Mithra-like figures around the world, so it seems he was another god whose worship transcended time and place; I do think he also had some relation with bull worship though. He seems to be connected to the zodiac, and it is said he was born from a rock, so I decided to draw him emerging from a boulder covered with the 12 signs. I also gave him a weapon, since he is a god of war. I find the image of the light from the rock reflecting on him rather lovely. (Kaneko)
(Soul Hackers no Subete)
The Phrygian god of resurrection, son of Cybele, Attis was castrated and crucified to a tree. His holy blood redeemed the sins on earth. Three days later, he came back to life as the greatest god who would unite the universe.*
Cybele’s lover or rather Cybele’s one-sided crush..? Apparently that the human sacrifices made for Cybele were cut into pieces because it is said that when Attis rejected Cybele, she cursed him, so he cut himself into pieces and died. Drawing him completely mutilated would have obviously been a strange idea, so I decided to keep his head attached. He has a pattern on his body that had to resemble Cybele’s, otherwise… (laughs).
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner World Guidance
Regarded as the embodiment of the earth, she was worshipped all over Asia Minor as a fertility goddess.
Cybele belonged to a pagan religion, so her cult required sacrifices. This is also why I decided to give her swords and made her look a bit intimidating. But yeah, her name always makes me think of Zeta Gundam’s Qubeley. I really like the way white and red go together. (Kaneko)
* here’s an article with links to sources about Attis and the three days and the blood, just in case you were curious..
* (part 2) aaaand a book with actual information thanks to doguconnoisseur!
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