The Syrian Goddess

To the student of oriental religions the Dea Syria is brimful of interest. Itdescribes the cult and worship of the goddess of Northern Syria, Atargatis,at her sacred city, Hierapolis, now Mumbij. The time when Lucian wrotewould be the middle of the second century B.C. We do not see any reasonto reject the traditional authorship of the treatise: on the contrary, the workseems to reveal the famous satirist at home, taking a natural interest inlocal memories and institutions, while making, doubtless, mental notes thatwere to prove of use in the works for which he is best known.Of the many writers who refer to the Dea Syria, no one dwells upon thefundamental character of the cult at Hierapolis, nor deals with the problemof its historical origins. It is this aspect of inquiry, therefore, with which wechiefly deal in the Introduction and the foot notes. Lucian's description,amplified by the later account of Macrobius, and further illustrated by thelocal coinage of Hierapolis, reveals the central cult as that of a divine pair.The male god, a form of Hadad, is symbolised by the bull, and is henceboth Lord of Heaven and Creator. The female deity is shown by hervery name, "Atargatis," to be a form of Ishtar or Astarte. Being mated withthe god, whom Lucian calls Zeus, she is called by him Hera: but shewears a mural crown, and is symbolised by the lion; and Lucian recognisesin her traces of Kybele, Aphrodite, Artemis, and other aspects of theMother Goddess. An examination of the materials which modern researchhas made available, shows this cult to be attributable historically to theHittites, the earliest known masters of the soil. The argument is developedin our Introduction.