In honour of Astarte, half-frantic youths and men mutilated themselves, and wore female attire. They then wandered about as beggars, collecting aid for their sanctuary, or rather for their priests, and were called "holy men" (_Kedeshim_). Such proceedings formed a main part of the religious discipline among the Phœnicians, and their abominations were constantly displayed before the Israelites. The southern tribes, on the other hand, maintained friendly relations with the Philistines. This people had emigrated from Caphtor (Cydonia), a town on the island of Crete, and their territory had three ports--Gaza in the south, Ashdod (Azotus) in the north, and Ascalon, midway between these two towns. In the interior, the Philistines occupied the cities of Gath and Ekron. This group of five cities (Pentapolis) formed a small district, extending as far as the Egyptian frontier, and its population acquired much power and influence. On this account, the Greeks and the Egyptians designated the entire country by the name of Palestine (_i. e._, land of the Philistines). Most probably the Philistines were seafarers and merchants like the Phœnicians. With these occupations, however, they combined the lust of conquest, whilst the Phœnicians, on the contrary, confined themselves to peaceful pursuits. The Philistines, having a narrow seaboard, were induced to seek territorial extension on the eastern side. The religious system of this people was essentially similar to that of the other Canaanites, and agreed, in fact, with that of the different nations of antiquity. They reverenced the procreative power of nature under the name of Dagon. This deity was depicted in a form half human, half piscine. The Philistines had numerous soothsayers, wizards, and cloud-seers (_Meonenim_), who predicted future events from various auguries. With the Idumæans, the Israelites had less intercourse. The territory of the former extended from Mount Seir to the Gulf of the Red Sea. It is thought that at a remote time they navigated this sea, and traded with Arabia. Their mountains contained metals, including gold. The Idumæans had the reputation of being sagacious and practical. In early ages they were governed by kings, who apparently were elective. On the north side of the Idumæans, to the east of the Dead Sea, the Moabites and the Ammonites were neighbours of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Their lascivious idolatry was also dedicated to a Baal on Mount Peor. Among the Ammonites, Baal was called Milcom or Malcom. Besides this deity, the god Chemosh was worshipped by these two nations. Amidst such surroundings, the Israelites could not well preserve their own political independence, and much less their spiritual peculiarity; nor could they keep midway between isolation and social intercourse among populations akin to them in language and descent.