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.

Her consort is usually Hadad. As Ataratheh, doves and fish were considered sacred by her, doves as an emblem of the Love-Goddess, and fish as symbolic of the fertility and life of the waters. According to a third-century Syriac source, "In Syria and in Urhâi the men used to castrate themselves in honor of Taratha. But when King Abgar became a believer, he commanded that anyone who emasculated himself should have a hand cut off. And from that day to the present no one in Urhâi emasculates himself anymore."

Read more about Atargatis:  Her Name, Cult Centers and Images, Syncretism, Atargatis Mythology