Editing Atargatis (section)

==Origin and name==
Atargatis is seen as a continuation of [[Bronze Age]] goddesses. At [[Ugarit]], [[cuneiform]] tablets attest multiple [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite goddesses]], among them three are considered as relevant to theories about the origin of Atargatis:
* '''[[Asherah|ʾAṯirat]]''', described as "Lady of the Sea" (''rbt ảṯrt ym'') and "mother of the gods" (''qnyt ỉlm'')
*'''[[Anat|ʿAnat]]''', a war goddess
*'''[[Astarte|ʿAṯtart]]''', a goddess of the hunt also sharing Anat's warlike role, regarded as analogous to Ishtar and Ishara in Ugaritic god lists and as such possibly connected to love

John Day asserts that all three shared many traits with each other and may have been worshipped in conjunction or separately during 1500 years of cultural history.<ref name="Day2002">{{cite book|author=John Day|title=Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y-gfwlltlRwC&pg=PA143|date=1 December 2002|publisher=Continuum|isbn=978-0-8264-6830-7|pages=143–}}</ref> While the worship of Ashtart and Anat as a pair is well attested,<ref>M. Smith, ''[https://www.academia.edu/12709064/_Athtart_in_Late_Bronze_Age_Syrian_Texts 'Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts]'' [in:] D. T. Sugimoto (ed), ''Transformation of a Goddess. Ishtar – Astarte – Aphrodite'', 2014, p. 49-51</ref><ref>G. Del Olmo Lete, ''[https://www.academia.edu/4583174/2013_KTU_1_107_A_miscellany_of_incantations_against_snakebite KTU 1.107: A miscellany of incantations against snakebite]'' [in] O. Loretz, S. Ribichini, W. G. E. Watson, J. Á. Zamora (eds), ''Ritual, Religion and Reason. Studies in the Ancient World in Honour of Paolo Xella'', 2013, p. 198</ref>  Steve A. Wiggins found no evidence Ashtart was ever conflated with Athirat.<ref>S. A. Wiggins, ''[https://www.academia.edu/1307031/A_Reassessment_of_Asherah_With_Further_Considerations_of_the_Goddess A Reassessment of Asherah: With Further Considerations of the Goddess]'', 2007, p. 57, footnote 124; see also p. 169</ref> He also pointed out that the concept of Athirat, Anat and Ashtart as a trinity of sorts (popularized by authors like [[Tikva Frymer-Kensky]]), is modern and ignores the role of other deities in Ugarit - for example [[Shapash]]; as well as the importance of the connection between Athirat and El.<ref>S. A. Wiggins, ''[https://www.academia.edu/17830631/A_Reassessment_of_Tikva_Frymer_Kenskys_Asherah A Reassessment of Tikva Frymer-Kensky's Asherah]'' [in:] R. H. Bael, S. Halloway, J. Scurlock, ''In the Wake of Tikva Frymer-Kensky'', 2009, p. 174</ref><ref>S. A. Wiggins, ''[https://www.academia.edu/1307034/Shapsh_Lamp_of_the_Gods Shapsh, Lamp of the Gods]'' [in:] N. Wyatt (ed.), ''Ugarit, religion and culture: proceedings of the International Colloquium on Ugarit, Religion and Culture, Edinburgh, July 1994; essays presented in honour of Professor John C. L. Gibson'', 1999, p. 327</ref>

The original Aramaic name of the goddess was {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡄}} ({{Transliteration|oar|ʿAttarʿattā}}), with its other forms including {{lang|sem-x-aramaic|𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡀}} ({{Transliteration|oar|ʿAttarʿattaʾ}}), {{lang|sem-x-aramaic|𐡀𐡕𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡄}} ({{Transliteration|oar|ʾAttarʿattā}}), {{lang|sem-x-aramaic|𐡀𐡕𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡀}} ({{Transliteration|oar|ʾAttarʿattaʾ}}), and the apocope form {{lang|sem-x-aramaic|𐡕𐡓𐡏𐡕}} ({{Transliteration|oar|Tarʿatta}}). The name {{Transliteration|oar|ʿAttarʿattā}} was composed of:{{sfn|Porten|1968|page=170}}{{sfn|Oden|1977|page=64}}{{sfn|Drijvers|1999}}{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|page=636}}{{sfn|Krebernik|2012|page=65}}{{sfn|Niehr|2014|page=201}}
* {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡕𐡓}} ({{Transliteration|oar|ʿAttar}}, from earlier {{Transliteration|oar|ʿAṯtar}}), which during the Iron Age had evolved from being the name of the goddess ʿAṯtart to become used to mean "goddess" in general, and was used in the name {{Transliteration|oar|ʿAttarʿattā}} in the sense of "goddess";{{sfn|Smith|2014|page=79}}
* and {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡕𐡄}} ({{Transliteration|oar|ʿAttā}}), which is the Aramaic variant of the name of the Semitic goddess [[Anat|ʿAnat]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The Greek name of the goddess, attested in the forms {{lang|grc|Αταργατις}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Atargatis}}), {{lang|grc|Ατταγαθη}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Attagathē}}), {{lang|grc|Αταρατη}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Ataratē}}), and {{lang|grc|Αταργατη}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Atargatē}}), was derived from the non-apocope forms of its original Aramaic name, while her Greek name {{lang|grc|Δερκετω}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Derketō}}) was derived from {{lang|sem-x-aramaic|𐡕𐡓𐡏𐡕}} ({{Transliteration|oar|Tarʿatta}}).{{sfn|Drijvers|1999}}