History of Niha

illage into the archeological park that is maintained by the Department of Antiquities, the Lower Small Temple appears first and directly ahead to the right of the creek. The temple was dedicated to the Syro-Phoenician mermaid goddess Atargatis and her consort, the god Hadaranes. Hadaranes is the local name of Hadad, the god of thunder, lightning and rain. Atargatis is the goddess of fertility. A small water channel runs through the podium of the temple leading to the belief that water purification rituals were conducted at the temple. The entrance of the temple faces south; it consists of a stairway leading to a portico with four columns with Ionic-style capitals. The cella, or central space of the temple, is accessed through three doors at the top of the stairway, and the restricted adytum is accessed by a stairway of nine steps at the end of the cella. The statue of the god or goddess was located inside the adytum and was usually not accessible to the public. In addition to the water channel running through and around the podium, there is also a smaller water channel that runs from the base of the statue of the god or goddess in the adytum down to the center of the cella. In the remains of this temple, archaeologists discovered a stone with an inscription mentioning a “female virgin prophet” named Hochmea. Hochmea was the priestess of Hadaranes and Atargatis; she dedicated herself to those two gods and cut herself off from the world. The stone inscription says: “According to an order from the god, she stopped eating bread for 20 years and lived for 100 years.” This stone was removed by archaeologists and is no longer located at the temple site. This small temple was apparently used for the public cult, which allowed everyone to participate in purification rituals.

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