Athtart
Atargatis (Semetic) – the first Mermaid
Geography/Culture: Babylonia: city of Der. Syria
Also Dagitu, the feminine form of the word for fish. Appropriated
into Greek culture as Derceto
Period of Worship : 2,000 bce to 1,000 Common era
Associated: the moon feminine powers, and water
Description: Great fish Goddess of water and its fishes; She
Who swallows and gives birth to the sun; City-Protectress.
Male Associate: Son, Oannes solar fish God.
To Whom Sacred: whale.
She is said to be the Mother of Semiramis, Queen-Goddess of
great beauty, intelligence, mighty works, love and sensuality.
Derceto is the goddess of fertility, her anthropomorphic
form is that of a mermaid, highlighting her relationship to the seas and
fertility.
She was sacred to the whales of the Oceans and it is said that
their songs are to serenade the Goddess.
According to the myth Atargatis fell in love to a mortal
shepherd called Hadad and they had a daughter called Semiramis. Semiramis later
on became queen of Assyria. She was most well -known for creating the famous
hanging gardens of Babylonia.
Atargatis accidentally caused the death of Hadad. She could
not live with her guilt and drowned herself into a lake near Ascalon. Waters
however could not hide her beauty and she was transformed into a mermaid. A
woman with a tail of a fish.
Atargatis was worshiped in a temple dedicated to her in the
ancient city of Ascalon in Israel
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