Who is Ashtoreth (a.k.a. Astarte, Ishtar, and Aphrodite) from When God Was a Woman and what is their importance?

Ashtoreth, also known as Astarte, Ishtar, and Aphrodite, is worshiped widely in the Mediterranean region. It is known for the priestesses who incarnate her, performing sacred sexual functions. For this "transgression", the editors of the Hebrew Bible deliberately misspell her name, refer to her as a male, and have her name pronounced as "boseth" (abomination). They inevitably pair her with the male Baal, who in other mythologies is much weaker than she. According to the author, scholars note that Ashtoreth and Yahweh are worshiped side-by-side in Jerusalem and Shiloh.