MythicMother of God temple on the site of St. Peter's Basilica
UBPre-Christian mother-goddess cult in Rome
Pre-Christian mother-goddess cult in Rome = Mother of God temple on the site of St. Peter's Basilica
The Connection
The UB notes that a Mother of God cult was established in Rome on the exact site where St. Peter's Basilica now stands. The physical continuity between pagan mother-goddess worship and the later Christian veneration of Mary as Mother of God, on the same location, illustrates how Christianity absorbed and transformed existing religious sites and traditions.
UB Citation
Academic Source
Lanciani, Pagan and Christian Rome (1892); Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (1992)
Historical Evidence(Moderate evidence)
The UB states that the Mother of God cult occupied the site later used for St. Peter's. Rodolfo Lanciani documented the extensive pagan religious remains beneath Christian churches in Rome. The Vatican Hill (Ager Vaticanus) was sacred to Cybele, and a Phrygianum (temple of Cybele) stood in the vicinity. L. Richardson confirms pagan sanctuaries on the Vatican Hill predating Christian construction. The practice of building churches on former pagan sacred sites was widespread throughout the Roman Empire.