Newsletter: Vol. 10. Iss. 2
May 2011
Jesus and Pan
Bert Gary
Greek mythology, Palestinian geography, and the biblical
narrative come together in a most unusual way at ancient Banias, better known
as Caesarea Philippi. In the first century, Pan was known as the only god
to have died "in our own time." Specifically, the god is recorded
as having died during the reign of Tiberius, the Emperor of Rome at the time
of Jesus' death. "Pan the great is dead," shouted a sailor, Tammuz,
sailing off the coast of Italy. There were reports of great lamentation. When
Tiberius heard of it, he believed it a mistake. It could not be that the great
son of Hermes and Penelope was dead, he concluded, but a lesser demon by the
same name.
Banias or Banyas---Arabic spellings of Paneas---is the ancient city at the
foot of Mt. Hermon dedicated to the god, Pan. (Herod Philip, a son of Herod
the Great, renamed the city Caesarea Philippi after himself.) The ruins of
a temple dedicated to Pan are nearly obliterated now, yet the cave in which
the god's great statue stood is still there, and votive niches in the cliff
wall also remain.
In the same way that Banias is named for Pan, Mt. Hermon is named for Pan's
father, Hermes. The god Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia. Being best known
probably as "the messenger of the gods," perhaps it is not surprising
that Hermes' name (Mercury in Roman mythology) came to the English language
in the word hermeneutic, which has to do of course with linguistic studies
and interpretation and translation, most often associated with biblical exegesis.
However, Hermes was also the conductor of the souls of the dead to Hades,
the place in Greek mythology where dead peoples' souls go to wander around
in boredom.
Pan---the Greek word for "all"--- was among other things the guardian
of thresholds. His job was to frighten you when you reached a threshold in
life. That is where we get the word pan-ic!
Putting this together, in the Cave of Pan at Caesarea Philippi stands a statue
of Pan, guarding the threshold to the cave. This cave is in Mt. Hermon, named
for Hermes, the conductor of souls to Hades. The Cave of Pan logically came
to be known as the ‘gateway to Hades.’ So, if you were to die
and you did not get panicked by Pan, your soul would cross the threshold of
the cave, and Hermes would take you to Hades from there!
Jesus' time at Caesarea Philippi was in a way a Gethsemane in the north. He
had left Herod Antipas' territory. Four reasons for heading north are mentioned
in the Gospels. Jesus had just heard of the death of John the Baptist (Matthew
14:9-13); Herod was looking for him (Luke 9:9); the disciples were tired from
their missionary journeys (Mark 6:30-31); and the crowds had tried to take
him and make him king by force (John 6:15). Any one of these would be reason
enough to bug out, but taken together, it is easy to see why Jesus needed
time away.
Luke makes it clear that at Banias Jesus was alone in prayer, and the disciples
were with him (9:18). It is in the context of problems and pain back in the
Galilee, in seclusion and in prayer at this northern pagan city, that Jesus
becomes circumspect about things to come. The nature of his ministry/messiahship
are in focus again, as they were in the temptations in the Judean wilderness.
In the story of Peter's confession and in the temptations of Jesus, Satan
makes an appearance, and both are times of struggle and loneliness.
After Jesus told them he would go back to Jerusalem to die, and after he and
Peter had "the screaming match at Caesarea Philippi" (Mark 8:31-33),
Jesus stayed six days longer there (Mark 9:2). Six days longer. We have no
way of knowing what went on that week. But in light of Jesus' revelation of
suffering and death, there was probably not a lot of rest and relaxation.
After six days (Luke says eight), he took his "inner circle" with
him up to a high mountain apart (Mark 9:2) by themselves (Matthew 17:1) to
pray (Luke 9:28). Obviously the only high mountain in the vicinity is Har
Hermon. (Mt. Tabor then is certainly a traditional site for pilgrims.) There
he takes on an unearthly appearance, and he is visited by Moses and Elijah.
The prophet of Mt. Sinai and the prophet of Mt. Carmel meet Jesus on Mt. Hermon.
The servant of Yahweh who stood down Pharaoh, and the servant of God who stood
down 450 prophets of Baal, spoke with Jesus concerning his upcoming confrontation
with the Judean authorities on Zion, on Moriah, and on Calvary (Luke 9:31).
Moses and Elijah turned to leave so Peter and company proposed booth construction,
and immediately one of those thick mists rolled in. The voice proclaimed essentially
what it had proclaimed at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:17 and 17:5). It
is interesting how the baptism and temptations are joined, and how the scene
at Banias and Hermon are joined. At the southernmost point of the Jordan River,
affirmation of God's voice led to struggle in the Judean wilderness (Mark
1:11-12). Conversely, at the Banias Spring (the northern headwaters of the
Jordan River), struggle led to the affirmation of God's voice on Hermon. We
have come full circle in the fullness of time, for the baptism and temptations
mark the beginning of Jesus' Galilean ministry (at the end of the river),
while the prediction and transfiguration mark the end (at the beginning of
the river). After the events in the north, Luke says, he set his face toward
Jerusalem (9:51). Mark says he began striding ahead of them, and the disciples
were amazed and afraid (10:32).
Five coincidences? Is it a coincidence that it is on Hermon, named for the
messenger god, that Jesus got the message from Moses and Elijah that steeled
his nerve and sent him on his way, and three disciples got the message, from
the highest source, of who Jesus was and that they should "listen"
to him? Is it a coincidence that as Jesus stood at the threshold of his own
fate, he struggled and hesitated six days before the Temple of Pan, the god
of panic and thresholds? Is it a coincidence in Matthew, that in the vicinity
of that cave known as the gateway to Hades, Jesus gave the keys to the kingdom
to Peter, proclaiming that the gates of hell would not prevail against it?
Is it a coincidence that Jesus would ponder his own death at ‘the gateway
to Hades,’ a cavern yawning before him like a tomb? And is it a coincidence
that during the reign of Tiberius, Pan was not the only ‘god’
to have died, but in fact God incarnate, Jesus Christ, also died, and he is
proclaimed by the Church as the living and eternal Lord of Pan/All?
