Atargatis, also known as Ataratheh and redubbed Derceto by Pliny the Elder, was a chief goddess in northern Syria, with evidence of her cult being discovered at Palmyria. She was a fertility goddess but also presided over her city at Aleppo, called Hierapolis by the Greek, where she was the baalat (the “mistress”) and presided over the welfare of her people: doves were sacred to her, as a testament to her role as love goddess, but she’s also connected to fishes and it’s said she turned into a fish herself. She’s today’s profile on my Patreon.

books and literature
Isaac Asimov’s “Fantasy” collection
I take issue with this volume, and not because they’re short stories and you’re bound to like some more than the others: they’re all delightful, with very few and negligible exceptions. No, my problem is curatorial: I take issue that instead of grouping all the







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