Banias

Hermon in the disputed Golan Heights (claimed by Israel and Syria ). The site is 95 miles north of Jerusalem and 35 miles southwest from Damascus. The city was also called Caesarea Philippi by the Romans. The city was built near the Banyas spring , one of the sources of the River Jordan .

Caesarea Philippi should not be confused with Caesarea Maritima , on the Mediterranean, or modern Caesarea in Israel) or with Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia. Place in Golan Heights Banias (or Paneas ; ; ; ) is an archaeological site by the uninhabited former city of Caesarea Philippi , located at the foot of Mount Hermon (Ba'al-Hermon, , Jabal esh-Shaiykh , , Har Hermon) in the Golan Heights . The site is 150 km north of Jerusalem and 60 km southwest of Damascus . The city was located within the region known as the "Panion" (the region of the Greek god Pan ), and is named after the deity associated with the grotto and shrines close to the spring called "Paneas". The temenos (sacred precinct) included a temple, courtyards, a grotto and niches for rituals, and was dedicated to Pan. It was constructed on an elevated, 80m long natural terrace along the cliff which towered over the north of the city. A four-line inscription at the base of one of the niches relates to Pan and Echo , the mountain nymph, and was dated to 87 CE. In the distant past, a giant spring gushed from a cave set in the limestone bedrock, to tumble down the valley and flow into the Hula marshes. Currently it is the source of the Nahal Hermon stream. Whereas the Jordan River previously rose from the malaria -infested Hula marshes , it now rises from this spring and two others at the base of Mount Hermon. The flow of the spring has decreased greatly in modern times. The water no longer gushes forth from the cave, but only seeps from the bedrock below it.

Banias ( ; ) is the Arabic and modern Hebrew name of an ancient site that developed around a spring once associated with the Greek god Pan , in the vicinity of the town of Caesarea Philippi . The spring is located at the foot of Mount Hermon , north of the Golan Heights , and constitutes one of the main sources of the Jordan River . The archaeologist have uncovered here a shrine dedicated to Pan and related deities, and the remains of an ancient city founded sometime after the conquest by Alexander the Great and inhabited all until 1967 , and mentioned under the name of Caesarea Philippi by the Gospels of Matthew and Mark . The first mention from the Hellenistic period is in the context of a battle fought around 200-198 BCE, when the name of the place is given as " Panion ". Later the region was called " Paneas " ( ), both names being derived from that of Pan, the god of the wild and companion of the nymphs . The spring initially originated in a large cave carved out of a sheer cliff face which was gradually lined with a series of shrines. The temenos (sacred precinct) included in its final phase a temple placed at the mouth of the cave, courtyards for rituals, and niches for statues. It was constructed on an elevated, 80m long natural terrace along the cliff which towered over the north of the city. A four-line inscription at the base of one of the niches relates to Pan and Echo , the mountain nymph, and was dated to 87 CE. The once very large spring gushed from the limestone cave, but an earthquake has moved it to the foot of the natural terrace where it now seeps quietly from the bedrock, with a greatly reduced flow. From here the stream, called in Hebrew Nahal Hermon, flows towards what once were the malaria -infested Hula marshes .

Archaeological site in the Golan Heights This article is about the ancient site in the Golan Heights. Banias ( ; ) is an ancient site that developed around a spring once associated with the Greek god Pan . It is located at the foot of Mount Hermon , north of the Golan Heights . The spring is the source of the Banias River , one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River . Archaeologists uncovered a shrine dedicated to Pan and related deities, and the remains of an ancient city founded sometime after the conquest by Alexander the Great and inhabited until 1967 ; the ancient city was mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark by the name of Caesarea Philippi . The first mention of the ancient city during the Hellenistic period was in the context of the Battle of Panium , fought around 200-198 BCE, when the name of the region was given as the Panion . Later, Pliny called the city Paneas ( ). Both names were derived from that of Pan , the god of the wild and companion of the nymphs . The spring at Banias initially originated in a large cave carved out of a sheer cliff face which was gradually lined with a series of shrines. The temenos (sacred precinct) included in its final phase a temple placed at the mouth of the cave, courtyards for rituals, and niches for statues. It was constructed on an elevated, 80m long natural terrace along the cliff which towered over the north of the city. A four-line inscription at the base of one of the niches relates to Pan and Echo , the mountain nymph, and was dated to 87 BCE. The once very large spring gushed from the limestone cave, but an earthquake moved it to the foot of the natural terrace where it now seeps quietly from the bedrock, with a greatly reduced flow. From here the stream, called Nahal Hermon in Hebrew, flows towards what once were the malaria -infested Hula marshes .

Archaeological site in the Golan Heights This article is about the ancient site in the Golan Heights. Banias ( Arabic : بانياس الحولة ; Modern Hebrew : בניאס ; Judeo-Aramaic , Medieval Hebrew : פמייס , etc.; Ancient Greek : Πανεάς ), also spelled Banyas , is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan . It had been inhabited for 2,000 years, until its Syrian population fled and their homes were destroyed by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War . It is located at the foot of Mount Hermon , north of the Golan Heights , the classical Gaulanitis , in the part occupied by Israel . The spring is the source of the Banias River , one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River . Archaeologists uncovered a shrine dedicated to Pan and related deities, and the remains of an ancient city dating from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The ancient city was first mentioned in the context of the Battle of Panium , fought around 200–198 BCE, when the name of the region was given as the Panion . Later, Pliny called the city Paneas ( Ancient Greek : Πανειάς ). Both names were derived from that of Pan , the god of the wild and companion of the nymphs . Herod the Great , king of Judaea , constructed a temple dedicated to Augustus at the site. Subsequently, Herod's son, Philip the Tetrarch , further developed the area, establishing a city. In 61 CE, Agrippa II expanded and renamed the city Neronias Irenopolis . The ancient city was mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark , under the name of Caesarea Philippi , as the place where Jesus confirmed Peter 's confession that Jesus was the Messiah ; the site is today a place of pilgrimage for Christians . The spring at Banias initially originated in a large cave carved out of a sheer cliff face which was gradually lined with a series of shrines. The temenos (sacred precinct) included in its final phase a temple placed at the mouth of the cave, courtyards for rituals, and niches for statues. It was constructed on an elevated, 80m long natural terrace along the cliff which towered over the north of the city. A four-line inscription at the base of one of the niches relates to Pan and Echo , the mountain nymph, and was dated to 87 BCE. The once very large spring gushed from the limestone cave, but an earthquake moved it to the foot of the natural terrace where it now seeps quietly from the bedrock, with a greatly reduced flow. From here the stream, called Nahal Hermon in Hebrew, flows towards what once were the malaria -infested Hula marshes . In June 1967, the penultimate day of the Six Day War saw Israeli tanks storm into Banias in breach of a UN ceasefire accepted by Syria hours earlier. The Israeli general Moshe Dayan had decided to act unilaterally and take the Golan. The Arab villagers fled to the Syrian Druze village of Majdal Shams higher up the mountain, where they waited. After seven weeks, abandoning hope of return, they dispersed east into Syria. Israeli bulldozers razed their homes to the ground a few months later, bringing to an end two millennia of life in Banias. Only the mosque, the church and the shrines were spared, along with the Ottoman house of the shaykh perched high atop its Roman foundations. Israel Nature and Parks Authority .