The Cabeiri were Greek divinities celebrated with mystical rites, but the origin of their name is uncertain. By one account the Cabeiri were representatives of the forces of nature and the name comes from the verb kaio (to burn), while other versions associate it with the Phoenician word kabir (great) or the Sanscrit word gawiras (mighty). Although they were themselves great gods, during their Mysteries the Cabeiri assumed a secondary role as acolytes of the gods (daemons) they served, adopting their names. Their number varies in the sources from two to seven. The god Hephaestus and the Nymph Cabeiro (daughter of Proteus and Anchinoe) almost always appear in their genealogy. Also associated with them are the Cabeirides, Nymphs said to have been their daughters or sisters. Some sources identify the Cabeiri with Iasion and Dardanus, sons of Zeus and Electra, heroes from Samothrace. Based on ancient source evidence, the cult of the Cabeiri was introduced into Greek territory by the Pelasgians, but it has been identified in many regions both within and beyond Greece proper. The cradles of their cult were the mountains of Phrygia (Mount Cabeirus, where the Cabeiri were hierophants of the goddess Cybele), Boeotia (Thebes and Anthedon), some of the islands in the Thracian Sea (Lemnos, Imbros, Samothrace), and the Egyptian city of Memphis, where a temple of the Cabeiri was destroyed by the Persian Cambyses in the 6th century BC. In Lemnos the Cabeiri were considered primarily as iron-workers, and so were associated with Hephaestus. In Samothrace they appeared as protectors of seafarers, like the Dioscuri, and were worshipped together with the locally venerated chthonic divinities. In Thebes, by contrast, there were just two Cabeiri, father and son, who were patrons of animal husbandry and vine-growing. In general outline the Cabeiri display similarities with other daemonic divinities, such as the Curetes, the Corybantes and the Telchines. During the performance of their rites, the participants were possessed by a Bacchic mania, stamping with their feet on the ground and producing a deafening and awe-inspiring noise with rattles, cymbals, drums, flutes and the clash of arms. Other sources say that the Cabeirian Mysteries were a great annual nine-day festival focusing on the afterlife and thus giving their followers hope for a better life. In Samothrace initiations were held throughout the year (chiefly from May to September), the emblems of the initiates were an olive wreath and a purple ribbon, and their aim was to improve the moral character of the devotees.
