Ashtoreth

King Solomon, despite his wisdom, turned away from the Lord and worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, along with other foreign deities (1Ki.11.5, 33). He even built a high place for Ashtoreth on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (1Ki.11.7; 2Ki.23.13). These actions led to the division of his kingdom after his death (1Ki.11.9-13). The cult of Ashtoreth involved ritual prostitution and child sacrifice, practices that were strongly condemned by the biblical prophets (2Ki.23.10; Jer.32.35). King Josiah later destroyed the high places dedicated to Ashtoreth and other pagan gods as part of his religious reforms (2Ki.23.13).