Caesarea Philippi city overview illustration 1

Jesus visited Caesarea Philippi with his disciples (Matthew 16:13-20), announcing that the “Gates of Hades” would not prevail against his movement. The city was known as Banias (or Panias) before and after the Roman era. Herod the Great’s son Philip built a temple to the emperor in front of the large cave on the cliff and renamed the city for both himself and Caesar. The Banias River is one of three main tributaries that form the Jordan River. When Jesus came to this location, the river flowed from the cave in dramatic fashion. An earthquake closed the cave (and killed 6,000 people) on New Year’s Day in 1837, keeping us from seeing the mysterious sight of a full-blown river flowing from the cave at its starting point. Even today, the river provides a dramatic picture as it still finds its way out of the base of Mt. Hermon. Because of the river’s dramatic entrance here, the site became holy ground for several pagan religions, including the worship of Pan. Baal and Asherah were also worshiped here. The foundations of pagan temples and the niches for idols can still be seen along the cliff today. Religious beliefs in the ancient world said pagan gods went underground to Hades each winter through mysterious holes in the earth, and the cave at Banias was as mysterious as any cave in the Middle East. The cave was known as the “Gates of Hades.” In some eras, sacrifices were thrown into the cave to lure the gods out of Hades so spring and its season of fertility would come. There is some evidence that child sacrifice took place here, especially during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel and during the times when the worship of Molek was prevalent (see 2 Kings 23:10). That Jesus came to the region at all was surprising. He and his disciples were at least two days hiking from their base in Capernaum. No synagogues have been found in the region, making it one of the darkest spiritual places Jesus ever visited. The Transfiguration (Matthew 17) almost certainly took place on the hills of Mt. Hermon, since Jesus came to Banias before and after that event.