A view of the spring of Banias with the Cave of Pan in background. From Wikimedia Commons.
Caesarea Philippi (modern Banias), located 40 km north of the Sea of Galilee in the southwest foothills of Mount Hermon, was known for its grotto, red-rock bluff, forests, and springs. As Pan, the Greek god of pastoralism, was often worshipped in caves, it was perhaps natural that the first reference to this location (around 200 BCE) calls it “Panion,” a sanctuary to Pan. The name of this site changed over time from Panion, to Caesarea Philippi, to Neronias, to Paneas. The modern site is known as Banias.
