Lucian, a writer of the first century CE who was born in Syria, left us a description of the temple of Atargatis. In Ascalon the God Hadad was considered Atargatis's consort (He was the local Ba'al, or 'Lord', as She was the local Belit or 'Lady'), and there the two of them had a great temple. Herodotus credits Her temple there as being the oldest temple to Aphrodite (what he calls Atargatis) in the world, and the inspiration for Her temple on the island of Cyprus. It was located on the Mediterranean coast about 40 miles south west of Jerusalem. The second part is more problematic, however, and various interpretations of the whole of Her name are: 'Atar the Daughter/Mother of 'Ate', 'the Fish Goddess Atar', or 'Atar the Favorable One'.Ītargatis was worshipped in Syria in the city of Ascalon, a town said to be famous for its scallions (literally 'onions of Ascalon'), later called Hieropolis or Bambyce by the Greeks and one of the five main cities of the Philistines. The first half of the name, most agree, is a form of the name Athtar (aka Astarte). The name is Semitic, and in Phoenician is 'Athtart. There are a few theories as to what the name 'Atargatis' means. Atargatis may be the direct inspiration for the Greek Love Goddess Aphrodite, Whose worship is said to have come from the East.

By the late periods though They were so confused in the popular imagination that They did in fact merge back into the same Goddess. Though Atargatis is often identified with Astarte, this is not quite correct-while the worship of both Atargatis and Astarte spring from a common source, the cults later diverged so that the Goddesses became distinctly different. In Her capacity as Heavenly Goddess, She is concerned with astrology and divination, and Fate. She is the great civilizer, who taught the people social and religious procedures, and who is responsible for inventing many useful things as Her gift to Humankind. She is so closely identified with the fish that sometimes She was represented in the form of a mermaid-Her upper half that of a human female, Her lower a fish-tail-though She could also be represented in simple woman-form.

Doves and fish are sacred to Her: doves as an emblem of the Love-Goddess, and fish as symbolic of the fertility and life of the waters. She is a Great Mother and Fertility Goddess of the Earth and Water, considered the main Goddess worshipped in Syria. Atargatis is a Goddess of Syrian origin whose worship spread to Greece and Rome (and further).

Quotatargatis