Of all the places for a Jewish Rabbi to bring His students, Caesarea Philippi had to be of some question in the minds of the disciples. Understanding this gives a more comprehensive context to the understanding of Matthew 16:13ff. The cave was literally seen as the entrance and exit to “hell.” Prostitution and bestiality were openly practiced as well as ritual human sacrifice. Horrible acts of worship occurred around this cave and city. Every year when the spring would come flooding out of the cave, they believed the fertility gods were awakening and coming forth. They believed that the opening of the cave (where the shrine was built) served as a gateway to “Hades.” In this underworld, the fertility gods (such as Pan) would sleep throughout the winter. However, the cave carried an even extended myth to the locals there. He is the only “god” in Greek mythology to have died. Legend stated that the overwhelming feeling of fright one had when lost in the mountain wilderness was actually the presence of Pan. Once angered, Pan could let out a shrieking voice so terrifying, all who heard it would “panic,” hence, the origin of the word. The story continues that Pan loved naps even more than his nymphs and disturbing him was at one’s own peril. Even the word “nymph (+mania)” is used in psychological terms today in reference to those with sexual addictions. The sexual focus on Pan’s fiction developed into sordid stories of rape, homosexuality, and bestiality. However, his music on a set of handmade pipes constructed of reeds cut down while pursuing a nymph named Syrinx, was seductive. He was half goat and half man, whose appearance frightened more than attracted others. As a side note of particular value for cultural understanding, Pan (meaning “all” in Greek) was the idolatrous god of the wild, untamed mountains, shepherds and flocks, simple music, sexuality, and an association to the Nymphs.
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