Bible Dictionary
ATARGATIS
Atargatis was a goddess worshiped in parts of the ancient Near East, including Karnion and Ashkelon. She was associated with a woman’s form and a fish’s tail, and fish were regarded as sacred to her.
Definition
Atargatis was a goddess worshiped at Karnion, Ashkelon, Palmyra, and Adiabene. At her chief temples she was represented with a woman’s body and a fish’s tail, and fish were sacred to her.
Biblical Usage
Atargatis is mentioned in connection with the worship practiced at Karnion in the period recorded in 2 Maccabees.
Historical Background
The name appears on coins of Membij, and the Greeks often corrupted it into Derketo. Her principal temples were at Membij and Ashkelon.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a-tar'-ga-tis (Atargatis; the Revised Version (British and American) wrongly ATERGATIS):</p><p>Is stated in 2 Macc 12:26 to have been worshipped at Karnion, the Ashtaroth-Karnaim of the Old Testament (compare Ant, XII, viii, 4). The name is found on coins of Membij as `atar-`atah, where `Atar (i. e. Ashtoreth) is identified with the goddess `Atah, whose name is sometimes written `Ati. or `Atah or `Ati was also worshipped at Palmyra, and (according to Melito) in Adiabene.</p><p>The compound Atargatis, often corrupted by the Greeks into Derketo, had her chief temples at Membij (Hierapolis) and Ashkelon where she was represented with the body of a woman and the tail of a fish, fish being sacred to her. Herodotus made her the Aphrodite Urania of the Greeks. `Ati may have been originally a Hittite goddess with whom the Assyrian Ishtar (`Atar) came afterward to be identified tory of the kingdom (2Sa 14:14). For the legal and geographical information, see CITIES OF REFUGE; HOMICIDE.</p><p>A. H. Sayce</p>