Editing Atargatis (section)

=== Sculptures  ===
{{hatnote|For further discussion of temples dedicated to the goddess, see under [[#Cult|§Cultus]] below.}}

A relief fragment found at Dura-Europos is thought to represent Atargatis/[[Tyche]] (Yale-French excavations, 1935–46), as it shows a pair of doves that are sacred to Atargatis besides her head; the doves are assumed to be perched on the post of her throne, which is missing. The figure's mural crown is emblematic of a Tyche (protector-goddess) of a city,<ref name="matheson"/><ref>{{harvp|Downey|1977}}, pp. 47–48, 172–173 ''apud'' Matheson</ref> but this matches the historic account that the cult relief Atargatis Hierapolis was seen wearing a mural crown.<ref>{{harvp|Matheson|1994}}, n. 30</ref>

In the temples of Atargatis at Palmyra and at [[Dura-Europos]]{{efn|The goddess at Dura-Europos represented in the guise of the Tyche of Palmyra, accompanied by the lion, in a fresco from the sanctuary of the Palmyrene gods, removed to the Yale Art Gallery.}} she appeared repeatedly with her consort, [[Hadad]], and in the richly syncretic religious culture at Dura-Europos, was worshipped as ''[[Temple of Artemis Azzanathkona|Artemis Azzanathkona]]''.<ref>Rostovtseff 1933:58-63; ''Dura-Europos'' III.</ref>

In the 1930s, numerous [[Nabatean]] bas-relief busts of Atargatis were identified by [[Nelson Glueck]] at [[Khirbet et-Tannur|Khirbet et-Tannûr]], Jordan, in temple ruins of the early first century CE;<ref name="glueck1937" /> there the lightly veiled goddess's lips and eyes had once been painted red, and a pair of fish confronted one another above her head. Her wavy hair, suggesting water to Glueck, was parted in the middle. At [[Petra]] the goddess from the north was syncretised with a North Arabian goddess from the south [[Uzza|al-Uzzah]], worshipped in the one temple. At [[Dura-Europus]] among the attributes of Atargatis are the spindle and the sceptre or fish-spear.<ref>Baur, ''Dura-Europos'' III, p. 115. For [[Pindar]] (''Sixth Olympian Ode''), the Greek sea-goddess [[Amphitrite]] is "goddess of the gold spindle".</ref>