{"database": "deitydb", "table": "entities", "rows": [["ENT_ARA_ATARGATIS", "Atargatis", null, "Aramean", "great Syrian goddess / fish goddess", "Love Deity", "love; fertility; sovereignty; sea and fish; divine queenship; war; prophecy", null, null, null, "A", null, null, null, null, null, "Atargatis (\"the Syrian Goddess,\" Greek Dea Syria; Aramaic Atar-ata or \u02bfAtar-\u02bfAte) is the most influential Aramean deity in the broader Mediterranean world and the principal goddess of the Syrian religious tradition. Her main cult center was the great temple complex at Hierapolis-Bambyce (modern Manbij, northern Syria), which Lucian of Samosata describes in detail in De Dea Syria (c. 150 CE): a monumental temple with sacred fish-pools where fish were never caught but fed by hand, sacred doves, a golden statue of Atargatis enthroned between lions (her cult animal), surrounded by divine effigies of other deities, and served by hundreds of priests including the castrated galli who performed ecstatic self-mutilation at festivals. Her theonym is a compressed form of two divine names: Atar (= Aramaic form of Astarte, the Semitic love/war goddess) + Ata/Ate (= possibly \"Anat,\" the Ugaritic war goddess, making Atargatis a fusion of both female divine powers). She is a \"panthea\" \u2014 a many-in-one all-goddess who encompasses love, fertility, sovereignty, war, and prophecy in a single figure. Her cult spread dramatically across the Hellenistic world through Syrian merchant communities: major temples on Delos (the Atargateion, 2nd c. BCE), in Athens, and in Rome (the Galli priests's festivals were observed in Rome). She is typically depicted enthroned, wearing a turreted crown and holding a scepter, with lions flanking her throne and fish at her feet. Lucian De Dea Syria (\u00a7\u00a71-60) is the fullest primary source; Lipi\u0144ski (2000) pp. 589-610.", "deity"]], "columns": ["entity_id", "canonical_name", "greek_name", "tradition", "entity_type", "category", "primary_domains", "tags", "cult_scope", "primary_period", "evidence_confidence", "review_status", "inclusion_basis", "earth_association_score", "chthonic_flag", "serpent_flag", "short_note", "entity_class"], "primary_keys": ["entity_id"], "primary_key_values": ["ENT_ARA_ATARGATIS"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 77.55411700054538, "source": "jebboone/deitydb", "source_url": "https://github.com/jebboone/deitydb", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"}