hea was the wife of Cronus and was one of the two youngest of The Titans. Rhea represented fertility and the fruits of the soil. Her worship gained in importance by her identification with Cybele, chief goddess of the Phrygians and the Lydians in Asia Minor, who was known as the great mother. At Crete, the scene of Zeus’ birth, Rhea was worshipped as the mother of the gods. The priests of Rhea were called Curetes in Crete and Greece. As Cybele, her priests were the Corybantes in Phrygia. The Curetes kindly disposed demi-gods, helped to save infant Zeus’ life by drowning out his cries with the clash of their arms. The Corybantes (also known as Galli, from the river Gallos in Asia Minor) were eunuch priests who followed Cybele with wild, savage dances and intoxicating music on her mountain travels. It was believed that they castrated themselves out of sympathy for, and in honour and imitation of, Atys, a beautiful shepherd who, driven mad by Cybele unmanned himself.