paneas

Paneas, also known in antiquity as Paneas and in the Roman period as Caesarea Philippi, is an archaeological site located at the source of the Jordan River on the slopes of Mount Hermon. The site sits in the region historically known as Iturea and Trachonitis. The name Paneas derives from a cult of the Greek god Pan worshipped at the spring, known as the Banias, around which a sacred complex formed.

In the Hellenistic and early Roman era, Paneas developed as a city built around the spring and its sanctuary. In the 1st century CE, Herod Philip II rebuilt and expanded the settlement and renamed it Caesarea Philippi in honor of Caesar Augustus, establishing it as a regional administrative and religious center.

The site is noted in Christian tradition for the encounter between Jesus and his disciples in which he asks, “Who do you say that I am?” a scene associated with Caesarea Philippi in the Gospels (Matthew 16:13–20, Mark 8:27–30). The ruins, dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods, include temple precincts, inscriptions, and other remains that highlight the Pan sanctuary and the sacred spring grotto.

Today Paneas/Caesarea Philippi lies in the Golan Heights region, near the Banias waterfall. It is part of a modern nature reserve and remains a focus of archaeology and visitors, offering insight into the cultural and religious dynamics of the region in antiquity.