They sacrificed to and worshiped the devil.

(1 Corinthians 10:20) Pharaoh the king of Egypt was a type of Satan the devil; and Pharaoh used wise men like unto these sorcerers and magicians to oppose the Lord and his messengers in the day that they were in Egyptian bondage.

(Exodus 7:11) These were devotees of astrology and demon worship.

Doubtless many of them were sincere, but they were the dupes of a false religion inaugurated by Satan.

The Biblical record definitely fixes the fact that Herod, then ruler in Jerusalem, was a wicked man, under the influence of Satan.
[152]"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." (Matthew 2:1,2) Be it noted that these wise men went directly to Herod, a representative of Satan.