CAESAREA

           A. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Founded by its founder, Herod the Great, in honor of Caesar Augustus, the city was the capital of the Roman province of Judea for about 600 years.  The name of this city, to distinguish it from other “Caesarean cities,” was official called Caesarea Maritima.

In the middle of the 3rd century B.C., during the Hellenistic Period, the sandy hills along the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean were given by the Persians to the Phoenicians, who built a small fortified anchorage there which they called Strato’s Tower.  At the end of the 2nd century, B.C. Zoilos, the tyrant of Dor, conquered Caesarea, but it soon fell to the Hasmonaean Alexander Jannaeus.  It seems that the first Jewish community was founded there at this time.

Early in Herod the Great’s reign it was given to him by Augustus, and between the years 22 and 10 B.C., Herod built an entirely new city.  Josephus, the Jewish historian of the day (in War I, 408-415), who must have know Caesarea in all its grandeur, left a detailed description of the city and its port.  Quite early in the Roman Period Caesarea became the seat of the Roman procurators of the province of Judaea.  The city also served as the headquarters of the Roman legions stationed in the province.

In the words of Josephus, Herod built an impressive harbor, the centerpiece of the city, “He (Herod) had blocks of stone let down into 20 fathoms (120 feet) of water, each of them measuring 50 feet in length by 9 in depth and 10 in breadth.  At the harbor-mouth stood colossal statues, three on either side, resting on columns.  On an eminence facing the harbor-mouth stood Caesar’s temple, remarkable for its beauty and grand proportions.  It contained a colossal statue of the emperor, not inferior to the Olympian Zeus.  Herod dedicated the city to Caesar.  The rest of the buildings - an amphitheater large enough to hold a great crowd of people and conveniently situated for a view of the sea, a theater of stone, and public places - were constructed in a style worthy of the name which the city bore.  The city was completed in 12 years (13/12 B.C.).”   A hippodrome was also built for chariot races.

At this time, most of the inhabitants were Syrian Greeks.  However, there was also a considerable and economically strong Jewish community. Constant tensions arose between the communities which ended in A.D. 66, during the rule of Gesius Florus, in the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt.  During Vespasian’s stay in Caesarea the legions stationed there proclaimed him emperor.  As a token of gratitude he conferred the status of colonia on the city. 

Christianity penetrated rather early, and at the end of the 2nd century the town already has a bishop.  In the 3rd and 4th centuries Origen and Eusebius, two of the Early Fathers, taught in the famous Christian School which had a world-famous library.  Out of this library came the famous translation of the Bible known as the Hexapla.

B. BIBLICAL REFERENCES:

1. Acts 8: 40f   Philip, after meeting with the Ethiopian, goes to Caesarea

2.  Acts 9:30   After Saul’s conversion, he goes to Jerusalem.  Then he travels to Caesarea, then to Tarsus.

3.  Acts 10: 1-48   Cornelius, a Roman centurion, receives a vision at Caesarea.  Peter is brought from Joppa to Caesarea.  Peter then preaches to the Gentiles.

4.  Acts 12:19   Herod Agrippa I (ruling in Judea from 41-44 A.D.) kills John and James and wants to kill Peter also.  So he comes to Caesarea to hunt for Peter.

5.  Acts 18:22   At the end of Paul’s second missionary journey, he lands at Caesarea and greets the Christians here.

6.  Acts 21:8,16    At the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, Paul goes to Tyre and to Caesarea.  Here, he enters Peter’s house.

7.  Acts 23:23-35  200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen, at the third hour, deliver Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea.  Here, Paul is kept in Herod’s judgment hall and stays in the city for 2 years.

8.  Acts 25-26   Festus sees Paul at Caesarea but says, “unto Caesar you must go.”  Agrippa II and Bernice then come to Caesarea to hear Paul speak.   Agrippa’s response after he hears Paul, you almost persuaded me to become a Christian..."

          C. ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS OF INTEREST

1.   ROMAN PERIOD: 

a).  Most impressive are Herod’s buildings which include the amphitheater and the harbor, one of the largest in the world.  A Palace (Herod’s Praetorium) featuring a dining room facing a large pool measuring 115 feet long and 59 feet wide, has also been uncovered.   Archaeologist surmise that the pool, though surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea, had been filled by fresh water.

b).  Two aqueducts were also built by Herod to bring fresh water into the city form the Mt. Carmel area, at least 5 miles away!

c).  Hot rooms (caldarium), a Roman-styled bath with a floor raised on round columns of brick to form a hypocaust, was built be Herod to supply him all the luxuries of the Roman world.

d).  A Hippodrome (used for chariot races) is among some of the new excavations.  

e).  As Caesarea flourished through the 6th century A.D., many Byzantine Period finds can be visibly seen.  Among these finds include the Archive Building.   This building includes a mosaic inscription from the New Testament, Romans 13:3, “If you would not fear the authority, then do good...”  A Byzantine Street (under which is the Roman street) and many columns can be seen.  As many as 700 columns may have bordered a mile-long street.    

f).  The podium of the Temple of Augustus from the time of Herod is visible today.  The presence of this temple indicates the religious flavor of this city during New Testament times.