𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭

TL;DR
Once again, the internet got it wrong. Despite what your cousin's conspiracy meme claims, there is zero evidence that Attis, that ancient pine-loving, self-castrating deity, died and came back to life after three days before Jesus supposedly pulled the same trick. The cult of Cybele and Attis had festivals, yes. But during Emperor Claudius’s time, these were more about getting over your emotional hangover from mourning than celebrating a god zombie rising from the dirt. The whole “three-day resurrection” idea? A creative anachronism courtesy of Christian writers centuries later.

The Origins of the Attis Cult
Attis was the pretty boy of Phrygia, a vegetation god whose claim to fame was losing his mind (and his manhood) in a fit of ritual madness. His goddess-girlfriend Cybele was a jealous type, so naturally the story ends in blood and pine needles. Ancient versions of the myth are gloriously gory—but not exactly resurrection material.

Let’s see what the pre-Jesus sources actually say:

Catullus 63 (1st century BCE): Attis screams, bleeds, and runs off to live in the woods as a eunuch. That’s the end. No comeback tour.

Ovid's Fasti (8 CE): There’s blood, there’s seasonal symbolism, there’s ritual mourning. Still no miraculous comeback. Just a lot of spring cleaning with a side of trauma.

The Hilaria: Where Grief Gets Festive

The spring festival cycle of Cybele and Attis reads like a dramatic soap opera:

• March 15: Canna Intrat – bring in the reeds!
• March 22: Arbor Intrat – parade a pine tree around town like it’s a float at the Macy’s Day Parade
• March 24: Dies Sanguinis – everybody scream and cut themselves
• March 25: Hilaria – hooray! You survived your own religious trauma!

So what did Hilaria celebrate? Getting over it. It was the ritual equivalent of slapping on a smile after three days of ugly crying. The idea that this was a “resurrection day” for Attis? Total fiction. At best, it was a return to good vibes and public theater. At worst, it was state-sponsored mood whiplash.

No Three-Day Resurrection in Sight—Until Christianity Shows Up

Let’s be crystal clear: no pagan writer before Christianity ever says Attis rose from the dead after three days. None. Zip. Nada.

• Pliny? Nope.
• Tacitus? Hard pass.
• Pausanias? Just a lot of scenic travel writing and mythological trivia.

So where does this whole three-day resurrection idea come from? Oh right—Firmicus Maternus, a Christian writer in the 4th century CE. That’s three centuries after Jesus and nearly four after the events in question. He writes:

"On the 25th of March, the Hilaria is celebrated, the day of rejoicing after Attis had been mourned and buried... On this day he is said to rise again."

By then, Christians were already claiming Jesus had beaten death and wanted to accuse pagans of copycatting. Except the pagans weren’t even in the game until Christians gave them the rulebook.

What Do Actual Scholars Say (a.k.a., People Who Read Books)?

• Tryggve Mettinger: "No clear evidence in the pre-Christian era that Attis rose from the dead." In academic-speak, that’s code for “please stop embarrassing yourself.”
• Walter Burkert: "Resurrection is a later development, first mentioned by Christian sources." Translation: yeah, they made it up.
• Joscelyn Godwin: Describes the resurrection in Roman times. Not Phrygian. Not pre-Christian. Not original. Just late to the party.

Conclusion: The Resurrection That Wasn’t

The internet loves a good pagan prototype. Too bad Attis wasn’t one. The myth of his death is old. The idea that he rose again after three days? That’s a retrofitted knockoff, bolted on centuries later by Christian authors who were more interested in theological turf wars than historical accuracy.

If anything, the "resurrection" of Attis is a second-rate imitation that showed up late to the script—and only after Jesus had already premiered.

Works Cited

Burkert, Walter. Ancient Mystery Cults. Harvard University Press, 1987.

Catullus. The Poems of Catullus. Translated by Peter Green, University of California Press, 2005.

Firmicus Maternus. De Errore Profanarum Religionum. Translated by Clarence A. Forbes, Newman Press, 1970.

Godwin, Joscelyn. Mystery Religions in the Ancient World. Thames & Hudson, 1981.

Mettinger, Tryggve N.D. The Riddle of Resurrection: Dying and Rising Gods in the Ancient Near East. Almqvist & Wiksell, 2001.

Ovid. Fasti. Translated by A.J. Boyle and Roger Woodard, Penguin Classics, 2000.

Pausanias. Description of Greece. Translated by W.H.S. Jones and H.A. Ormerod, Loeb Classical Library, 1918.