He was the most important deity of Tyre, as the meaning of his name, ½ king of the city,╗ indicates.
Melkart was also worshipped in the colonies that \b \cf4 \ATXht1146 Tyre\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 founded elsewhere in the Mediterranean, and thus his cult spread to Kition, Gades, and above all Carthage.