Editing Atargatis (section)

=== Analysis ===
Ctesias's account, according to one analysis, is composed of two myths, the Derceto transformation myth, and the Semiramis birth myth,{{efn|As a further layer, the goddess in both parts is equated to Astarte in [[William Robertson Smith|W. Robertson Smith]]'s analysis.}} and a telling of each myth are told by a number of classical writers.{{sfnp|Smith, W. Robertson|1887|p=314}}<!--Smith's article is in fact the ''Eng. Hist. Rev.'' cited in {{EB1911}}-->

The first myth (the Derceto metamorphosis into fish) is told, e.g., by Ovid as a [[Dione (mythology)|Dione]]-[[Cupid]] myth.{{sfnp|Smith, W. Robertson|1887|p=314}} The irony is that even though Ovid explicitly mentions Derceto ({{langx|la|Derceti}}) of Babylonia transforming into a fish,<ref>Ovid. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi006.perseus-lat1:4 ''Metamorphoses'' '''IV''': 44ff].</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Ovid also mentions Venus transforming into a fish. ''Metamorphoses'' '''V''': 331, "Pisce Venus latuit.."}} Ovid's version of this first myth (detailed below) is recorded in ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', and fails to mention the goddess in Syria (Dione) metamorphosing into fish-shape. The metamorphosis thereafter needs be reconstructed by consulting other sources which preserves that original ending.<ref name="hyginus-fish-metamorph">Hyginus, ''De astronomia'' '''II''': 30 and Manilius '''IV''': 580 sqq. ''apud'' {{harvp|Smith, W. Robertson|1887|p=314}}</ref>

The second myth (the Semiramis birth myth) is told by various writers as an alternate version of the birth of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] (from an egg carried ashore by fish, then hatched by doves), however, Ctesias felt compelled to "drop" the egg element according to the analysis. This seemed a gratuitous ("incredible") excision to the analyst, given that Venus's birth from an ocean-found egg was not a far cry from the familiar version of the Aphrodite/Venus's genesis out of water (sea-foam).<ref>{{harvp|Smith, W. Robertson|1887|p=314}} and {{harvp|Smith, W. Robertson|1894|p=175}}: "as Aphrodite sprang from the sea-foam, or as  Atargatis, .."</ref>{{Refn|Cf. "Dione from the foam" (signifying Venus) in ''[[Pervigilium Veneris]]''.<ref name="lucas"/>}}