Archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old temple in Turkey that may have been dedicated to a mother goddess.
Found near the modern-day city of Denizli, the temple was built by the Phrygians, who had a kingdom in the area between roughly 1200 and 650 B.C. A prominent deity of the Phrygians was a goddess who may have been associated with fertility and nature. She was known by several names, including "Materan," "Matar" and "Cybele." Other cultures, such as the ancient Greeks and the Romans, also worshipped her, and her cult continued to flourish long after the Phrygian kingdom — known as Phrygia and whose most famous ruler is likely King Midas — came to an end.
