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Many springs feed the Upper Jordan, of which three are major:
the Khatzbani, which starts in Lebanon, the Dan, and the one at Banias. All have
their source in rain and snow that fall on Mt. Hermon.
The water percolates through the rock until it reaches a
waterproof layer. It is then stored in the mountain, building up pressure until
something happens to release it. At Banias this "something" was erosion. The
spring bubbles out of a cliff in the western face of Mt. Hermon, giving 160
million cubic meters of water per year.
 Despite
the spring, and despite the good soil in the area, no major town developed here
in the First Testament period. The proximity of Dan was probably a reason. The
Danites, who sat on an even bigger spring, would not have brooked competition so
near. For here was the junction of three major roads: (1) the northern branch of
the Great Trunk Road between Egypt and Damascus; (2) the road connecting the
latter with the sea at Tyre, the so-called via maris; (3) the road to the
Tigris.
History did not set a firm foot in Banias, therefore, until
the Greeks arrived. After the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), his
successors Ptolemy and Seleucus became rivals for the huge area he had
conquered. At first the Egypt-based Ptolemies ruled the land, but around 200 BC,
the Seleucid Antiochus III, ruling from Syria, defeated them and took over the
country. The historian Polybius (2nd century BC) tells us that the battle
occurred at a place he knew as Paneon (meaning, the sanctuary of Pan). The name
Banias reflects the Arabic pronunciation for Paneas, "city of Pan," sometimes
called Paneon. Since no other location in the land bears such a name, the site
of the crucial battle was probably here. Polybius also reports that Antiochus
used elephants, which threw the enemy into a panic. Now the Greeks had a god,
one of whose attributes was to cause panic in battle (Gr. panika), and his name
was (not by coincidence) Pan. It may be, then, that the famous panic of the
decisive battle led
the Seleucids to erect a sanctuary here to Pan.
But what was it about Pan, such that the Greeks took his name
for panic? He was famous for his great cry, which echoed. Perhaps it was
originally a battle cry, such as causes panic. As for the echo, Pan fell in love
with a virgin named Echo, who resisted his advances, for he was ugly, hairy and
goat-legged. Finally, he had his minions catch her and rip her to pieces. They
buried her remains in many places, and that is why, when one gives a great
shout, the echo comes from many places.
Echo too was revered here. Above the spring there are niches
carved in the face of the cliff, with inscriptions. They contained statues,
which have disappeared. From the inscriptions, however, we know that one was
dedicated to Pan, one to the emperor and one to Echo.
Pan was also a god of the hunters, and his echoing shout could
easily disorient them in the forests of Greek Arcadia, where he first appeared.
But above all, he was god of the goats: hence, his peculiar
legs. Playing his flute, he would entice the goats into a dance, which ensured
the fertility of the herds. Thus he was also a fertility god, famous for lust.
The abundance of the vegetation at Banias, together with the rush of the spring,
perhaps suggested to the Greeks the rush of human passion, and thus the presence
of Pan. In addition to the history, the lushness of the site itself evokes him.
In the year 20 BC, the Emperor Augustus gave the sanctuary and
the untamed regions around it to Herod, who honored his benefactor with a temple
above the spring. Its remains are still visible before the large cave. Herod
willed the area to his son Philip, who was the first to found a city here:
Caesarea Philippi, the capital of his tetrarchy. The worship of Pan continued to
thrive.
Into the region of Caesarea Philippi came Jesus and his
disciples, and here they conducted a crucial conversation, known as the
confession of Peter.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(r),
(c) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The
Lockman Foundation. (www.Lockman.org)
© 2003 Near East Tourist
Agency (NET)
Text © 2003 Stephen Langfur
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