She was native to Asia and appeared as early as 7000 BC. The earliest form of Mother goddess worship is recognized as having started with the Catalhoyuk people, among whom the goddess represented fertility. She was the 'Mother of everything' and her power was limitless. The Mother goddess figure had far-reaching influence and can be traced beyond the Four Corners of Anatolia to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Arabia and Scandinavia.

The evolution of Kybele, over thousands of years, finds a more definite form with 'Kubaba', the Hittite Mother goddess. The Hittites date from 1800-1200 BC and were a highly developed civilization, with an Empire spreading over Anatolia and Syria. They worshiped a broad array of Gods of which Kybele was but one.

The importance of the Kybele cult lies not only in its longevity, but also in its being the last pagan cult to die out. The cult was one of the most difficult for Christianity to overcome.
The earliest inhabitants of Ephesus were the Lydians, Lelegians and Carians, who all worshipped Kybele. The cult of Kybele spread to Greece and underwent a subtle change. The Hellenistic influence modified the sensual nature of Kybele and on her return to Anatolia the licentious goddess was rather more chaste and innocent than in former times.

When the Ionians settled in Ephesus, they didn't attempt to stamp out the cult of Kybele. Instead they very cleverly introduced the worship of Artemis alongside that of Kybele.http://sailturkey.com/panoramas/ephesus/discover_ephesus/demo/2000.html