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A gallus (pl. galli) was a eunuch priest of the goddess Cybele (Magna Mater in Rome) and her consort Attis, whose worship was incorporated into the state religious practices of ancient Rome.
The earliest surviving references to the galli come from the Greek Anthology, a 10th-century compilation of earlier material, where several epigrams mention or clearly allude to their castrated state.
Stephanus Byzantinus (6th century CE) said the name came from King Gallus,Maarten J. Vermaseren, Cybele and Attis: the myth and the cult, translated by A. M. H. Lemmers, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977, p.96: "But according to others their name was derived from King Gallus 495 who in a state of frenzy had emasculated himself..." and p.199, "495. Steph. Byz. s.v. γάλλος (= H. Hepding, Attis, 74)." while Ovid (43 BC – 17 CE) said it derived from the Gallus River in Phrygia.Maarten J. Vermaseren, Cybele and Attis: the myth and the cult, translated by A. M. H. Lemmers, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977, p.85, referencing Ovid, Fasti IV.9 The same word ( gallus singular, galli plural) was used by the Romans to refer to Celts and to , and the latter especially was a source of puns. Considering the Mesopotamian connection, and the similarities between Cybele and Inanna, a common etymology between the galli and the much earlier Sumerian priests of Inanna, known as the Gala, is plausible, but this is not as yet conclusive.
The archigallus was a Roman citizen who was also employed by the Roman State and therefore walked a narrow line: preserving cult traditions while not violating Roman religious prohibitions. Some argue that the archigallus was never a eunuch, as all citizens of Rome were forbidden from eviratio (castration). The cults of the Roman Empire, The Great Mother and her Eunuchs, by Robert Turcan, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996 p. 49 (This prohibition suggests that the original galli were either Asian or slaves.) Claudius, however, lifted the ban on castration; Domitian subsequently reaffirmed it.Maarten J. Vermaseren, Cybele and Attis: the myth and the cult, translated by A. M. H. Lemmers, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977, p.96: "Furthermore Cybele was to be served by only oriental priests; Roman citizens were not allowed to serve until the times of Claudius." Whether or not Roman citizens could participate in the cult of Magna Mater, or whether its members were exclusively foreign-born, is therefore the subject of scholarly debate.
A fourth-century cemetery was excavated at Hungate in York, where one of the burials has been identified as potentially that of a member of the galli. This is based on the evidence that although the bones appeared to be male, the person was buried with jet bracelets, a material that is strongly associated with women. These aspects are also similar to that of the Gallus burial from Catterick.
A sacred feast was part of the initiation ritual. Firmicus Maternus, a Christian who objected to other religions, revealed a possible password of the galli: "I have eaten from the timbrel; I have drunk from the cymbal; I am become an initiate of Attis." That password is cited in the book De errore profanarum religionum. However, the password is written in Greek with a translation into Latin, which does not contain any reference to Attis. (1970). 9780809100392, Newman Press. ISBN 9780809100392 Some editions of the text also omit "Attis" in the Greek password. The Eleusinian Mysteries, reported by Clement of Alexandria, include a similar formula: "I fasted; I drank the kykeon water; I took from the sacred chest; I wrought therewith and put it in the basket, and from the basket into the chest." Clement also reported (as paraphrased by a 20th-century historian) "carrying a vessel called a kernos" and entering "the pastos or marriage-chamber".
The signs of their office have been described as a type of crown, possibly a laurel wreath, as well as a golden bracelet known as the occabus. The cults of the Roman Empire, The Great Mother and her Eunuchs, by Robert Turcan, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996 p. 51 They generally wore women's clothing (often yellow), and a turban, pendants, and earrings. They bleached their hair and wore it long, and they wore heavy makeup. They wandered around with followers, begging for charity, in return for which they were prepared to Divination.
In Rome, the head of the galli was known as the archigallus, at least from the period of Claudius on. A number of archaeological finds depict the archigallus wearing luxurious and extravagant costumes. The archigallus was always a Roman citizen chosen by the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, whose term of service lasted for life. Dictionary of Roman religion by Lesley Adkins, Roy A. Adkins, Oxford University Press, 1996 p. 91 Along with the institution of the archigallus came the Phrygianum sanctuary as well as the rite of the taurobolium as it pertains to the Magna Mater, two aspects of the Magna Mater's cultus that the archigallus held dominion over.
The galli may also have occupied a "third gender" in Roman society. Jacob Latham has connected the foreign nature of Magna Mater and her priests' nonconforming gender presentation. They may have existed outside Roman constructions of masculinity and femininity altogether, which can explain the adverse reactions of Roman male citizens against the gallis transgression of gender norms.
Some scholars have linked the episode of the self-castration of Attis to the ritual castration of the galli. At Pessinus, the centre of the Cybele cult, there were two high priests during the Hellenistic period, one with the title of "Attis" and the other with the name of "Battakes". Both were eunuchs.A. D. Nock, Eunuchs in Ancient Religion, ARW, XXIII (1925), 25–33 = Essays on Religion and the Ancient World, I (Oxford, 1972), 7–15. The high priests had considerable political influence during this period, and letters exist from a high priest of Attis to the kings of Pergamon, Eumenes II and Attalus II, inscribed on stone. Later, during the Flavian period, there was a college of ten priests, not castrated, and now Roman citizens, but still using the title "Attis".Maarten J. Vermaseren, Cybele and Attis: the myth and the cult, translated by A. M. H. Lemmers, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977, p. 98.
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