The landscape is amazing for its fauna, flora and abundance of waters, which form a series of water catchment areas within the Banias National Park, one of the distributary channels of the Jordan River, and a 10-meter waterfall, the largest in Israel. The numerous natural resources have made Banias a place of pagan worship, especially of the god "Pan", from which derives the name of the place: "Panias", in Arabic "Banias", since in the Arabic language there is no letter "P ". The archaeologist of Israel's national park, Ben-Yosef, explains how excavations began in the last century. In 1988, remains of Roman and Byzantine eras were discovered. Archaeological discoveries and testimonies of different historical periods including the Battle of Banias, when the present territory of the Holy Land was subjected to the Seleucid domination. Thirty years later, the attempt to introduce the customs of the Hellenistic culture caused the revolt of the Maccabees to break out. "In the Hellenistic era, the city experienced moments of prestige. Here Herod built a temple in honor of Emperor Caesar Augustus and, before dying, divided his kingdom among his three sons. Banias was destined for Philip, who made it the capital of his kingdom by giving it the name "Caesarea di Philippi" to distinguish it from Caesarea Marittima, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. During his reign, the region developed economically and culturally: coins were minted, and temples, baths, theaters and other public buildings were built. Here an important fact occurred for Christianity. Jesus passed through here, and asked the disciples how he was perceived by the people, then he proceeded to ask the same thing directly to them: “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”. Starting from there, Peter's beautiful response and the revelation of his mission. Jesus left Judea and Galilee went to the borders of the Promised Land, almost amongst the pagans, and there he asked that question about why his identity was not confused with the messianism of his time. From the moment Peter receives the revelation of the Father, Jesus understands that the Father chose him among the brothers as the foundation stone on which the Church will be built. The archaeological site is located at the foot of Mount Hermon, on the Golan Heights, near the border with Syria and Lebanon. Those visiting it can see the ruins of different eras, ancient structures, palaces, an old water mill in operation, the Grotto of Pan and even touch the refreshing waters of the Hermon River. But above all, the place marks the moment when the identity of Christ and the mission of Peter were understood. Dr. BEN-YOSEF Archaeologist - National Park of Israel "About 200 years BC, the city was the scene of a great war of peoples coming from Greece. A war between the Seleucid royal household and that of the Ptolemies. After this war, the city was conquered by the Seleucid empire. Many constructions were erected, some of them in honor of gods from the Hellenistic culture, such as Pan. Fr. GIUSEPPE GAFFURINI, ofm Curator of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre "Peter will profess with his inspired answer, and the Lord Jesus answers with Peter’s mission: 'You are Peter and, on this rock, I will build my Church'." Fr. GIUSEPPE GAFFURINI, ofm Curator of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre "The Lord Jesus wished that his identity as Messiah would not be misunderstood and wanted to know how the people and the pagans identified him. That is, it would have been an open Church, with an open identity of Jesus and an identity of Peter and of the Church itself, very open. These two themes, the divinity of Christ and the primacy of Peter, are today the terms of discussion of ecumenical dialogue between Christian confessions and interreligious dialogue with other religious confessions, ready to recognize in Jesus a prophet, a messiah, but certainly not his divinity ". Read More