Ash·ke·lon or Ash·qe·lon (?sh?k?-l?n?, äsh?k?-lôn?) An ancient city of southwest Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea. Inhabited as early as the third millennium bc, it was a seat of worship for the goddess Astarte.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.