Editing Atargatis (section)

{{Short description|Ancient goddess of Northern Syria}}
{{redirect|Atergatis|the crab genus|Atergatis (crab)|the metal band|Atargatis (band)}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Canaanite
| name = Atargatis
| god_of = [[fertility goddess]]
| image = Atargatis, Nabatean, c.100 AD, Jordan Archaeological Museum.jpg
| caption = A [[Nabataean]] depiction of the goddess Atargatis dating from sometime around 100 AD, currently housed in the [[Jordan Archaeological Museum]]
| cult_center = [[Hierapolis Bambyce]]
| symbols = dove, fish
| consort = [[Hadad]]
| greek_equivalent = [[Aphrodite]]; [[Hera]]
| roman_equivalent = Dea Syria
| canaanite_equivalent = [[Astarte]]
}}
{{Middle Eastern deities|0}}
'''Atargatis''' (known as '''Derceto''' by the Greeks<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]]. ''Natural History'', 5.19.1.</ref>) was the chief goddess of northern Syria in [[Classical antiquity]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40401/Atargatis |title= Atargatis (Syrian deity) - Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Britannica.com |date=2013-08-13 |access-date= 2014-08-11}}</ref><ref name=Rostovtseff/> Primarily she was a [[fertility goddess]], but, as the ''[[baal]]at'' ("mistress") of her city and people she was also responsible for their protection and well-being. Her chief sanctuary was at Hierapolis, modern [[Manbij]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/264977/Hierapolis |title= Hierapolis, at |publisher= Britannica.com |date= 2013-10-06 |access-date= 2014-08-11}}</ref> northeast of Aleppo, Syria.

[[Michael Rostovtzeff]] called her "the great mistress of the North Syrian lands".<ref name=Rostovtseff>M. Rostovtseff, "Hadad and Atargatis at Palmyra", ''American Journal of Archaeology'' '''37''' (January 1933), pp 58-63, examining Palmyrene stamped [[tessera]]e.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/atargatis.html |title= Atargatis, the Phoenician Great Goddess-Dea Syria Derketo Derceto mermaid goddess fish goddess water goddess canaanite goddess syrian goddess |publisher= Thaliatook.com |access-date= 2014-08-11}}</ref>

According to a third-century Syriac source, "In Syria and in [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Urhâi [Edessa]]] the men used to castrate themselves in honor of Taratha. But when [[Abgar VIII|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".<ref name="BauerKraft1996" />

She is sometimes  described as a [[mermaid]]-goddess, due to identification of her with a fish-bodied goddess at [[Ascalon|Ashkelon]].