Translations:Gender-variant identities worldwide/82/en
The Gallae lived together in the metro'on temple compounds, which they tended, and cared for the statue of Cybele. They called one another by familial titles like Mother and Sister. They spent much of their time traveling in order to beg for charity, in exchange for which they told fortunes and blessed homes.[1][2] They were believed to have spiritual powers: that they could bring rain, and exorcise evil spirits. The Roman public viewed them with a mixture of awe and contempt, seeing them as practicing shocking foreign customs, so they were just as often honored as they were harassed and politically persecuted. They were not allowed to be Roman citizens, and vice versa.