Atargatis

Atargatis ( /əˈtɑrɡətɨs/) or Ataratheh ( /əˈtærəθə/; Aramaic: ‘Atar‘atheh or Tar‘atheh‎) was a Syrian deity, the chief goddess of northern Syria (Michael Rostovtzeff called her "the great mistress of the North Syrian lands"), commonly known to the ancient Greeks by a the name Aphrodite Derceto ( /ˈdɜrsɨtoʊ/) and to the Romans as Dea Syriae ("Goddess of Syria"), occasionally rendered in one word Deasura. 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. Her chief sanctuary was at Hierapolis, modern Manbij, northeast of Aleppo, Syria. She is often now popularly described as the mermaid-goddess, from her fish-bodied appearance at Ashkelon and in Diodorus Siculus — a widely accessible source — but which is by no means her universal appearance.