(Golan Heights)
“Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi...” (Matthew 16:13)
Archaeologists identify Banias with Caesarea Philippi in the New Testament. It was here that Jesus asked His disciples (KJV), “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.”
When Jesus asked further, “But whom say ye that I am?” Simon Peter answered, saying, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
To this, Jesus answered and said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (see Matthew 16:13-18 KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV).
View North, looking down on the Grotto of Pan, the temple area ruins, and the Banias springs (one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River). The next photo shows Banias in the context of the surrounding area.
View North: The Sanctuary of Pan with Mount Hermon in the background.
View East, looking toward Mount Hermon, Nimrod’s Fortress, and Nahal Saar (another tributary of the Jordan River).
View West, looking toward the northern end of the Hula Valley with Upper Galilee in the background.
Wiki: Artists reconstruction of the Santuary of Pan.
View North: The Grotto of Pan was a santuary dedicated to the Greek god, where the people made sacrifices. The Greeks believed that Pan, the son of Hermes and grandson of Zeus, lived in the cave. The city’s modern name is Banias, the Arabic form of Panias.
View North: The court of Pan and the Nymphs. We know from coin depictions that the hewn niches contained statues of deity, including a sculpture of Echo, the mountain nymph and Pan’s consort, and a statue of Pan’s father, Hermes.
View West: The temple Herod the Great built in honor of Caesar Augustus was in front of the Grotto. According to Josephus, it was a “beautiful temple of white stone” (Antiquities 15.363).The building with the white dome is the shrine of Nabi Khadr (Elijah the Prophet).
View East, looking at the foundations of the temple of Zeus, built around 98 AD in the days of Emperor Trajan. The Corinthian capital in this and the previous photo crowned one of the four facade columns (see Panias city coin with a statue of Zeus in the hall).
View North: Banias springs with the Grotto of Pan and the court of Pan and the Nymphs in the background. The cave was a center of pagan worship, where sacrifices were offered to the half-man half-goat Pan.
View Northeast: Banias springs (one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River).
View West: The continuation of Banias springs toward the waterfall (see Banias River Trail).