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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Banias (Introduction)
The
Pan sanctuary
The
Confession of Peter (with comment)
The
royal palace
Banias
logistics
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. Used by permission.
(www.Lockman.org)
©
2003
Near East Tourist Agency
(NET)
Text
© 2003 Stephen
Langfur
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