While there are many thresholds that Jesus crossed during his lifetime, there seems to be one in particular that marks the transition between Jesus the Teacher and Jesus the Savior. This threshold is commonly called, The Confession of Peter:

'Who do people say I am?' They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.'

'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.' Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. (Mark 8:27-30)

Before this point, Jesus was the teacher, and except for a couple of symbolic references (like the Sign of Jonah), the synoptic gospels¹ paint a picture of Jesus at this point in his ministry as solely a teacher. After Peter's confession, we have a different aspect emerging:

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)

I recently read an article, "Marking the Points of Transition"^a by Bi\ shop John Bayton², who thinks that the location had something to do with it. The bible states that it just happened near Caesarea Philippi, but tradition adds that it happened near a cave near this city.

Caesarea Philippi, now known as Banias³, but formerly known as Panias, was a Roman city, and had a temple dedicated to Pan⁴.

Pan, an early nature god from the Arcadian wilderness area in the northern part of Greece, was connected with caves, and it is Bishop John Bayton's view that Peter saw the connection between Jesus and Pan, as both were called, Son of God.

Others, such as Yadin Roman^b agrees that this transition in the ministry of Jesus was due to the symbolic nature of the area, but not due to a correlation with Pan as well as a contrast:

Jesus' message was clear: their choice was between pagan decadence, the debauched world of Pan and Zeus, the riches of the capital of the kingdom of Herod, and the promised Kingdom of Heaven.

I'm not sure, but I've always wondered why it was easier for Romans and Greeks to accept the new Christianity than it was for the monotheistic Jews. Especially since Romanized Christianity adopted much from their pagan roots. However, there are many similarities between Jesus and Pan (and his Thracian counterpart Dionysus⁵). And maybe the connection between them was more clearly understood (and accepted) back then:

• Dionysus/Pan was called the Twice-Born^b since he was killed as a child and reborn from Zeus using Hermes' powers of healing.
  
  
• Dionysus/Pan was also known as "most gentle and most terrible," but as a son of god, he was able to relate with mere mortals.⁶

These Greek correlations have not be overlooked by centuries of Christians. They have viewed these (and similar symbols in the Old Testament) as Messianic prophecies that foreshadowed the coming of Jesus.

But there are many similarities, like the Day of Pentacost, where the Apostles are viewed as drunk, that could lead one to view that religion could possibly be an inward manifestation of our inner nature. Pan represents both the good and bad traits that people (and their religions) demonstrate.

Endnotes

1. The synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark and Luke. John is in a class by itself. It was written in a completely different style and much later than the others.
   
   
2. Bishop John Bayton is master iconographer and founder-patron of the Institute for Spiritual Studies, Melbourne, Australia, and formerly Episcopal chaplain at St. George's College, Jerusalem. His latest book, Zion to Sinai, is to be published in 2000.
   
   
3. After Alexander came through and conquered Egypt and the Middle East, his heirs fought to control each of the areas in particular. One, Antiochus III, beat the Egyptian-based Ptolemaic dynasty in this area of the Biblical city of Dan, and started a city he called Antioch (see Digital Holyland for details).
   
   The hills surrounding this area are full of caves and three main springs that feed the Sea of Galilea (which flow into the River Jordan). One spring actually comes out of a cave.
   
   The Greeks erected a shrine to Pan, and placed many images and statues in the caves in the surrounding hills. Especially sacred were springs that came out of caves, as these were held to be gateways into the underworld.
   
   The city was renamed, Panias (or Paneas), after the local god. After Herod's death, this area became controlled by his son, Philip, who placed his capital here, and renamed it, the City of King Philip (Caesarea Philippi). The city eventually went back to using the earlier name of Paneas. During the Moslem conquest in the 7th century, the Arabs mispronounced the name, and it became, Banias.
   
   I have wondered why any group of people would erect a temple to any particular god or goddess. I mean, in earlier times, you had your primary god or goddess of your city or tribe. However, if you moved and conquered a new area, your home god was now foreign (as you yourself were), and the gods of the new land new the area better than you and your god. Chances are good that you better placate the new one along with your old one. I personally think this was how much of the Greek pantheon got started.
   
   So, the Greeks conquered Dan, and probably assumed that this area belonged to Pan... especially since this area was rich in forests and springs, just what Pan always liked. (This area is now part of the Banyas Nature Reserve)
   
   
4. Pan represents the spirit of the wild things in all of us. Pan is the half man, half goat that to many Christians has come to represent the very image of the devil - perhaps because he is the God and champion of those wild beings that came to be so feared by civilization.
   
   For details, see http://www.belinus.co.uk/mythology/GreatGodPan.htm.
   
   
5. Dionysus (also spelt Dionysos) is the Greek God of ritual dance and sacred mysticism, of death and new life. He can be gentle or provoke the wildness within us all, literally able to drive both his followers and his enemies mad.
   
   For details, see http://www.belinus.co.uk/mythology/Dionysus.htm.
   
   
6. To quote from phillip.b@virgin.net:

   Dionysus is a pardox however, or a series of paradoxes, like a Chinese box. In ancient art he is the God most often represented. People identified readily with him, born of a human mother, and therefore half human. Like the Christian Mary, he is felt to be able to understand the problems of humanity and to intercede on our behalf with the other Gods. Dionysus symbolizes excess and even the value and significance of excess and the potential of this path for inner transformation.

   
   
   

Bibliography

• Bayton, Bishop John, "Marking the Points of Transition," Parabola, Volume 25, Number 1, page 90.
  
  
• Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths, 27 a,b. Unabridged 1988 Edition (Moyer Bell), ISBN 0-918825-80-6
  
  
• Roman, Yadin, from Digital Holyland, http://info.jpost.com/2000/Supplements/Millennium/holylandgolan6.htm\ l (see local copy of article).