jan 1, 198 BC - Battle of Panium

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The Battle of Panium occurred near Banias Spring at the foot of Mount Hermon in Northern Israel. The spring feeds the Banias River, a main tributary of the Jordan River. This site was the location of an ancient shrine to Ba’al, which the Ptolemaic Greeks converted into a shrine to their god Pan. After gaining control of the area, the Seleucid Greeks built a temple on the location. In 3 BCE, Herod's son, Philip II built a city on this site called Caesarea Philippi.

The worshippers of Pan believed that the Banias Spring was a gateway to the underworld, and that their fertility gods used the water as a passageway to Hades. As a result, the spring was known as the “Gates of Hell.” (see Matthew 16:13–20)

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