Casaerea Phillipi

   “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:13–21, ESV)

This city was built by Herod's son Philip on a large plateau at the base of Mount Hermon where the  Jordan river emerges. From ancient times this place was the site of worship of pagan nature gods, first Ba'al & then Pan. A grotto shrine dedicated to Pan & the nymph Echo led the site to be called Paneas in early Roman times. Later, Herod built a temple dedicated to the Roman emperor Augustus. Philip was the first one to build a city here.   

Fresh Figs

Gates of Hell

The Sanctuary of Pan

Sacred Niches

Adjacent to the sacred cave is a rocky escarpment with a series of hewn niches. We know that statues of the deity were placed in these niches by depictions of such on coins of the city.

One niche housed a sculpture of Echo, the mountain nymph and Pan’s consort. Another niche housed a statue of Pan’s father, Hermes, son of nymph Maia. Inscriptions in the niches mention those who gave large donations.

References:

http://www.bibleplaces.com/banias.htm

http://virtualreligion.net/iho/philippi.html