In
Greek mythology, the
Cabeiri (
Cabiri,
Kabeiroi, or
Kabiri; ) were a group of enigmatic
chthonic deities. They were worshiped in a
mystery cult closely associated with that of
Hephaestus, centered in the north Aegean islands of
Lemnos and possibly
Samothrace—at the
Samothrace temple complex—and at
Thebes. In their distant origins the Cabeiri and the Samothracian gods may include pre-Greek elements, or other non-Greek elements, such as
Hittite,
Thracian, proto-
Etruscan or Phrygian. The
Lemnian cult was always local to Lemnos, but the Samothracian mystery cult spread rapidly throughout the Greek world during the
Hellenistic period, eventually initiating Romans.