Atargatis was the chief goddess of northern Syria in Classical antiquity. Primarily she was a fertility goddess, but, as the baalat ("mistress") of her city and people she was also responsible for their protection and well-being. Her chief sanctuary was at Hierapolis, modern Manbij, northeast of Aleppo, Syria.
A Nabataean depiction of the goddess Atargatis dating from sometime around 100 AD, currently housed in the Jordan Archaeological Museum
The reverse of a coin of Demetrius III, depicts fish-bodied Atargatis, veiled, holding the egg (cf. birth of Syrian Venus from egg, §Mythology ) flanked by barley stalks.
The reverse of a coin from Cyrrhestica depicts Atargatis riding a lion, wearing a mural crown, and holding a sceptre.
The fishpond of fish sacred to Atargatis survives at Şanlıurfa, the ancient Edessa, its mythology transferred to Ibrahim.
Manbij is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Manbij had a population of nearly 100,000. The population of Manbij is largely Arab, with Kurdish, Turkmen, Circassian, and Chechen minorities. Many of its residents practice Naqshbandi Sufism.
Silver didrachm of 'Abyati, Achaemenid dynast/priest of Manbog (Bambyce), dated c. 340-332 BC. Obv: "Hadad and Ateh" in Aramaic, facing female bust, wearing necklace. Rev: "Abyaty" in Aramaic, high priest and driver in chariot.
American and Turkish soldiers conduct patrols on the outskirts of Manbij, November 1, 2018
