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Atargatis
Ancient goddess of Northern Syria / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Atargatis (known as Derceto by the Greeks[1]) was the chief goddess of northern Syria in Classical antiquity.[2][3] Primarily she was a fertility goddess, but, as the baalat ("mistress") of her city and people she was also responsible for their protection and well-being. Her chief sanctuary was at Hierapolis, modern Manbij,[4] northeast of Aleppo, Syria.
Atargatis | |
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![]() A Nabataean depiction of the goddess Atargatis dating from sometime around 100 AD, currently housed in the Jordan Archaeological Museum | |
Major cult center | Hierapolis Bambyce |
Symbols | dove, fish |
Consort | Hadad |
Equivalents | |
Greek equivalent | Aphrodite; Hera |
Roman equivalent | Dea Syria |
Canaanite equivalent | Astarte |
Michael Rostovtzeff called her "the great mistress of the North Syrian lands".[3] Her consort is usually Hadad. As Ataratheh, doves and fish were considered sacred to her: doves as an emblem of the love goddess, and fish as symbolic of the fertility and life of the waters.[5]
According to a third-century Syriac source, "In Syria and in Urhâi [Edessa] the men used to castrate themselves in honor of Taratha. But when King Abgar became a [Christian] believer, he commanded that anyone who emasculated himself should have a hand cut off. And from that day to the present no one in Urhâi emasculates himself anymore".[6]
She is sometimes described as a mermaid-goddess, due to identification of her with a fish-bodied goddess at Ashkelon.