Fish were so sacred to her that in the Syrian town of Ascalon, people were forbidden from eating fish from a lake near Atargatis’s temple. Atargatis is considered to be Great Mother and Goddess of Fertility of the earth and water.ĭoves and fish were her sacred animals, doves symbolizing love and fish symbolizing that she was the fertility of the waters. She is also known as Derketo in Greek mythology and is thought to have been the inspiration for the worship of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. The worship of Atargatis began in ancient Assyria and spread as far as Rome and Greece. Instead she became half goddess, half fish, with a tail below the waist and human body above the waist. But her beauty was so great, that she never could fully become a fish. Out of guilt, the goddess flung herself into the ocean hoping to become a fish. And it seems no matter which culture mentions Atargatis her story is always the same.Ītargatis was in love with a human shepherd but accidentally killed him. From Syria to Greece references to a mermaid named Atargatis can be found. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus referenced the mermaid myth in his Bibliotheca Historica (Universal history). Amman, Citadel Archaeological Museum Tyche or Atargatis, Nabatean Goddess of Fruits and Fertility It is is said to have taught the people social and religious practices. Though the story of El and Asherah are plentiful and easily accessible no mention of her is in the Bible though the spread of civilization in the ancient East is also attributed to Ashera. It is interesting to note that the above lines come from writing that will eventually make their way into the Old Testament. “Why has Lady Asherah-of-the-Sea arrived? to 49 A.D. Stories in ancient Canaan, (dates of which are hard to pin down) we find reference to a sea goddess who is clearly the consort of the god El. The first mermaids in ancient cultures were worshiped as goddesses and appeared in mythology between 1200 B.C.E. To celebrate Columbus’ discovery, ah mistake I thought I would offer my readers the history of ancient MermaidsĪ Ugarit cuneiform tablets attest to a fecund “Lady Goddess of the Sea” He notes that on January 9th his crew spotted them. This week we celebrate laugh at Christopher Columbus’s discovery of mermaids.
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