Caesarea Philippi (Banias) | Biblical Sites

At the foot of Mount Hermon, where one of the main springs of the Jordan River gushes from a cliff, sit the ruins of the city the Gospels call Caesarea Philippi — known earlier as Paneas or Banias for its sanctuary to the Greek god Pan. A great rock face beside the spring is cut with niches that once held statues; three carry Greek inscriptions naming Pan and his companions. Excavations since 1967 have cleared the cave-shrine of Pan and the remains of a Herodian-era palace and Roman city, confirming a thriving pagan cult center rebuilt and renamed by Herod Philip. This was the setting for Peter's confession, 'You are the Messiah,' and Jesus's reply, 'on this rock I will build my church.' The city, the spring, and the shrine to Pan are all solidly attested in stone.

Where it is: Foot of Mount Hermon, Golan / Upper Galilee
Scripture: Matthew 16:13-18 · Mark 8:27-29

What the evidence confirmsA Hellenistic-Roman city with a well-attested sanctuary to Pan, a Herodian palace, and Greek dedicatory inscriptions existed at Banias, matching the Gospels' identification of Caesarea Philippi as a real, pagan-dominated place at the headwaters of the Jordan.

What it does not proveThe archaeology confirms the city and its cult, not the Gospel scene itself. That Jesus and his disciples stood here for Peter's confession is a literary and geographical setting recorded in the Gospels, not something excavation can demonstrate.

Sources & further reading