Marble Temple In Caesarea Philippi

In caesarea philippi there was once a magnificent temple of white marble built by herod the great to the godhead of caesar.

Marble temple in caesarea philippi.

He rebuilt and beautified the town calling it caesarea as a compliment to augustus and adding his own name to distinguish it from caesarea on the coast of sharon ant. They were located in caesarea by the sea samaria sebaste and near paneon. 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. Caesarea philippi also known as paneas to the greeks and romans and baniyas in modern times.

An earthquake in 363 c e likely destroyed the city. The place is called panium panias caesarea philippi where is a top of a mountain that is raised to an immense height and at its side beneath or at its bottom a dark cave opens itself. Paul became an important. What is historically verifiable is that the see s bishop philocalus was at the first council of nicaea 325 that martyrius was burned to death under julian.

In honor of augustus visit to the area herod the great built three temples to augustus called augusteums. Local tradition has it that the first bishop was the erastus mentioned in saint paul s letter to the romans romans 16 23. And when caesar had further bestowed upon him another additional country he built there also a temple of white marble hard by the fountains of jordan. Paneas formed part of the tetrarchy of philip.

The district was given by augustus to herod the great 20 b c by whom a temple of white marble was built in honor of the emperor. Situated between the strymon and nestos rivers the city was valued in antiquity for its nearby gold mines. Herod the great was given the area of paneion later to be known as caesarea philippi by caesar augustus in 20 bc. The temple sat in front of the cave that was believed to be the gateway to the underworld and where the greek god pan lived.

The city and harbour were built under herod the great during c. Caesarea philippi became the seat of a bishop at an early date. Site of the famous battle of philippi at the end of the roman republic the city prospered in the roman imperial era and after a visit from st. παράλιος καισάρεια parálios kaisáreia formerly strato s tower also known as caesarea palestinae was an ancient city in the sharon plain on the coast of the mediterranean now in ruins and included in an israeli national park.

Philippi was an important city in eastern macedon which flourished in the hellenistic roman and byzantine periods. Herod the great s temple to caesar augustus. Caesarea maritima ˌ s ɛ s ə ˈ r iː ə m ə ˈ r ɪ t ɪ m ə. Caesarea philippi was a very lush place feeding the jordan river her waters and the ancient greeks said the water flowed from the cave but josephus reported that an earthquake altered the area so the waters flowed from underground springs.