ATARGATIS

great goddess of northern Syria; her chief sanctuary was at Hierapolis (modern Manbij), northeast of Aleppo, where she was worshiped with her consort, Hadad. Her ancient temple there was rebuilt about 300 BC by Queen Stratonice, wife of Seleucus I, and it was perhaps partly as a result of that Greek patronage that her cult, carried by Greek merchants and mercenaries, spread to various parts of the Greek world, where the goddess was generally regarded as a form of Aphrodite. Her nature closely resembled that of her Phoenician counterpart, Astarte, though she also showed some kinship with the Anatolian Cybele. Primarily she was a goddess of fertility, but, as the baalat (mistress) of her city and people, she was also responsible for their protection and well-being. Hence she was commonly portrayed wearing the mural crown and holding a sheaf of grain, while the lions who support her throne suggest her strength and her power over nature.