Dedicated by M. J. Brutus, B.C. 191, under the name of Mater Idæa,
Mother of the Gods (Livy, xxxvi. 36). "Cybele was not worshipped in
Rome till A.U.C. 550, when the goddess, a stone, was brought from
Pessinus, a city of Phrygia, by Scipio Nasica" (Strabo). The vessel
containing it having grounded at the mouth of the Tiber, remained
immovable till Claudia Quinta, to prove her chastity, after calling
upon the goddess, drew the ship with slight effort to Rome (Ovid,
"Fasti," vi. 300). This event is commemorated upon an altar in the
Capitoline Museum. The form of the temple remains, and part of the
seated statue of the goddess, a beautiful fragment, corresponding with
her figure as represented on coins. The remains are of _opus
incertum_.