Theater at Caesarea
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Herod the Great's capital at Caesarea (present day Kaisarieh) on the Mediterranean
There are two places in the Bible called Caesarea, not to be confused. One is Caesarea Philippi (present-day Banias), at the foot of Mount Hermon. This is the place where Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God (Matthew chapter 16 verse 13-16). The other Caesarea (present-day Kaisarieh) was on the Mediterranean coast, about 100 km northwest of Jerusalem and 37 km south of Mount Carmel. Herod the Great built this Caesarea, starting in 22 BC, and dedicating the city twelve years later. He named it in honor of Caesar Augustus.
Remains of Herod's harbor at Caesarea
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Herod made Caesarea a major port, by building some huge stone breakwaters to create an artificial harbor The Jewish historian Josephus said that this harbor was one of the biggest in the Mediterranean. Some scholars doubted his claims, but archaeologists have since confirmed their accuracy. The southern breakwater is about 480 meters long, and the northern one half as long. Both are about sixty meters wide.
Caesarea became the main port for trade between Europe and Asia. It was also on the caravan route between Egypt and Tyre. As well as the harbor, Herod built a huge temple, dedicated to Caesar Augustus and to Rome, a large theater and an amphitheater.
Herod's Aqueduct (partly rebuilt)
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Water supply was an important need for Herod's new city, so he built an aqueduct and tunnel to bring water from the slopes of Mount Carmel. Caesarea became the official Roman capital of Judea, and the residence of the governor, as well as being the home of the kings, who were puppets of the Romans. All in all, then, it was a major commercial, military and political center. This Caesarea features prominently in the Bible's story:
- When Paul fled from Damascus, he left from Caesarea on his way to Tarsus (Acts chapter 9 verse 30)
- The Roman centurion Cornelius - one of the first non-Jews to become a follower of Christ - lived in Caesarea (Acts chapter 10 verse 1, verses 9-33).
- When Paul came back to Judea after his second and third missionary journeys, Caesarea was the place where he landed (Acts chapter 18 verse 22, chapter 21 verses 7-8)
- The Roman governor Felix sent Paul to Caesarea, where he was kept in prison without trial for two years (Acts chapter 23 verses 23-35 and chapter 24 verse 27).
- It was at Caesarea that Paul defended himself before the Roman governor Festus (Acts chapter 25 verses 1-12), and before the Jewish king Agrippa (Acts chapter 25 verse 13 to 26 verse 32)
- When the Roman governor Festus sent Paul as a prisoner to Rome, Paul left, with Luke, on a ship from Caesarea
For more about Caesarea, see pages 218-20 of 'Discoveries from Bible Times', by Professor Alan Millard