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CAESAREA MARITIMA - THE CITY OF CAESAR BY THE SEA AS KNOWN TO SAINT PAUL
An Independent Source of News & Views
SAINT PAUL AT CAESAREA
Then he [a Roman Tribune in
Jerusalem] summoned two of the
centurions and said, ‘Get ready to
leave by nine o’clock tonight for
Caesarea with two hundred soldiers,
seventy horsemen, and two hundred
spearmen. ... When they came to
Caesarea and delivered the letter to
the governor, they presented Paul
also before him. ... Festus replied that
Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and
that he himself intended to go there
shortly. ‘So’, he said, ‘let those of you
who have the authority come down
with me, and if there is anything wrong
about the man, let them accuse him.’
After he had stayed among them for
not more than eight or ten days, he
went down to Caesarea; the next day
he took his seat on the tribunal and
ordered Paul to be brought. ... After
several days had passed, King
Agrippa and Bernice arrived at
Caesarea to welcome Festus. Since
they were staying there for several
days, Festus laid Paul’s case before
the king, saying, ‘There is a man here
who was left in prison by Felix.
Excerpted from Acts of the Apostles,
Chap. 23-25 .
Additional References: Josephus,
Antiquities 15.293, 339; 16.13; 19:343-
365; The Jewish War 1.80; 2.16-17, 282-
296, 457-459.
Acts 8:40, 10:1-11:18, 21:8-16; 23:23-35;
25:1-32.
Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea is
the most beautiful of ancient cities
beyond Jerusalem which is in the
syllabus of the Saint George's College
Course, "The Bible and its Setting."
Visiting its beach-front ruins during
springtime is sheer joy - fresh is the
scent of the ocean salt and bright are
the new flowers. This city once was
the grandest in Roman Palestine. Its
foundation was laid (ca 20 BCE) over
an old Greek fort known as Strato's
Tower by Herod the Great in honor of
his patron, Augustus (aka Gaius Julius
Caesar). Its harbor was larger than
that of Athens and merchants within
competed with Alexandria and Antioch
for commercial primacy. The city was
planned and built in the Roman style,
complete with fresh water aqueducts,
sewers, mosaic pavements lined with
marble colonnades, a forum, a
hippodrome (sports track), an
amphitheater said to be bigger than
the Coliseum in Rome, and not but not
least, an impressive temple dedicated
to the imperial cult. Caesarea
Maritima was pagan in the sense that
the Emperor along with the pantheon
of Greco-Roman gods and goddesses
were worshipped therein. Upon the
death of Herod soon after the birth of
Jesus, the Romans quickly deposed
his heir Archelaus and imposed direct
rule. Judea was governed from
Caesarea Maritima by Prefects, lower
rank equestrian officers. Pontius
Pilate was one such Prefect - in 1961,
a damaged limestone Tiberieum
marker was found in the amphitheatre
confirming that Pilate was [...]ECTVS
IUDA[...] (usually read as praefectus
iudaeae), that is, prefect-governor of
Judea. To see a photo of the Pilatus
Stone, click here. After 44 CE,
Procurators were sent by the Emperor
in lieu of Prefects. Regarding Paul,
formerly known as Saul, he was
imprisoned at Caesarea Maritima for
over 2 years, where the case against
him was first heard by Marcus
Antonius Felix, Procurator of Judea
(52-58 CE), and then by Porcius
Festus (Procurator 58-62) who not
only inherited Paul's case but all other
problems left over by Felix, including
charges of favoritism. Festus is also
famous as having presided over the
dispute between King Agrippa II and
the Temple authorities in Jerusalem
over the obstruction of the view from
a new wing of the royal palace by
Temple walls. In the fall of 58 CE, Paul
appealed to Caesar and set out for
Rome. In the 3rd and 4th centuries,
the city ascended as a center of
Christian scholarship, boasting of a
large library containing the writing of
Church fathers as Origen, Eusebius,
and Pamphilus and was visited by
luminaries as Gregory Nazianzus,
Basil the Great, Jerome (translator of
the Latin Vulgate Bible), and others
who studied at Caesarea Maritima.
Notes on the photos:
The WANGNEWS masthead shows the
Roman aqueduct running along the
beachfront of the city.
The photo 45 degrees up on the left
shows the Greco-Roman love for
sculptures of the human body, a taste
abhorred by the Judeans.
The photo 45 degrees up on the right
shows the remains of the ancient
Roman columns and walkways. In the
misty backdrop are 3 modern smoke-
stacks of a fossil fuel electric power
generation station.
The next photo on the right shows
more ancient columns and in the
center background is a modern oil
tanker sailing past like a ghost on the
Mediterranean Sea.
These 2 previous photos are apt
reminders of the dependence of our
modern civilization on fossil fuel for
the generation of energy.
The next photo on the right shows a
sarcophagus - a funeral container,
usually made of limestone. This word
is derived from the Greek σαρξ sarx
meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein
meaning "to eat", hence the
composite "flesh-eating." Limestone
was thought to quickly decompose the
corpse placed inside a sarcophagus.
This photo shows the impermanence
of all things temporal.
The last photo on the left column
shows a "Sushi Restaurant" (click on
photo for larger view), but on closer
look from the ground, the place was
closed. No sushi lunch could be had
for that day (I found only 1 Chinese
restaurant during my travels in the
Holy Land - a photo later). Charleston
C. K. Wang, 05/28/2010.
Then he [a Roman Tribune in
Jerusalem] summoned two of the
centurions and said, ‘Get ready to
leave by nine o’clock tonight for
Caesarea with two hundred soldiers,
seventy horsemen, and two hundred
spearmen. ... When they came to
Caesarea and delivered the letter to
the governor, they presented Paul
also before him. ... Festus replied that
Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and
that he himself intended to go there
shortly. ‘So’, he said, ‘let those of you
who have the authority come down
with me, and if there is anything wrong
about the man, let them accuse him.’
After he had stayed among them for
not more than eight or ten days, he
went down to Caesarea; the next day
he took his seat on the tribunal and
ordered Paul to be brought. ... After
several days had passed, King
Agrippa and Bernice arrived at
Caesarea to welcome Festus. Since
they were staying there for several
days, Festus laid Paul’s case before
the king, saying, ‘There is a man here
who was left in prison by Felix.
Excerpted from Acts of the Apostles,
Chap. 23-25 .
Additional References: Josephus,
Antiquities 15.293, 339; 16.13; 19:343-
365; The Jewish War 1.80; 2.16-17, 282-
296, 457-459.
Acts 8:40, 10:1-11:18, 21:8-16; 23:23-35;
25:1-32.
Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea is
the most beautiful of ancient cities
beyond Jerusalem which is in the
syllabus of the Saint George's College
Course, "The Bible and its Setting."
Visiting its beach-front ruins during
springtime is sheer joy - fresh is the
scent of the ocean salt and bright are
the new flowers. This city once was
the grandest in Roman Palestine. Its
foundation was laid (ca 20 BCE) over
an old Greek fort known as Strato's
Tower by Herod the Great in honor of
his patron, Augustus (aka Gaius Julius
Caesar). Its harbor was larger than
that of Athens and merchants within
competed with Alexandria and Antioch
for commercial primacy. The city was
planned and built in the Roman style,
complete with fresh water aqueducts,
sewers, mosaic pavements lined with
marble colonnades, a forum, a
hippodrome (sports track), an
amphitheater said to be bigger than
the Coliseum in Rome, and not but not
least, an impressive temple dedicated
to the imperial cult. Caesarea
Maritima was pagan in the sense that
the Emperor along with the pantheon
of Greco-Roman gods and goddesses
were worshipped therein. Upon the
death of Herod soon after the birth of
Jesus, the Romans quickly deposed
his heir Archelaus and imposed direct
rule. Judea was governed from
Caesarea Maritima by Prefects, lower
rank equestrian officers. Pontius
Pilate was one such Prefect - in 1961,
a damaged limestone Tiberieum
marker was found in the amphitheatre
confirming that Pilate was [...]ECTVS
IUDA[...] (usually read as praefectus
iudaeae), that is, prefect-governor of
Judea. To see a photo of the Pilatus
Stone, click here. After 44 CE,
Procurators were sent by the Emperor
in lieu of Prefects. Regarding Paul,
formerly known as Saul, he was
imprisoned at Caesarea Maritima for
over 2 years, where the case against
him was first heard by Marcus
Antonius Felix, Procurator of Judea
(52-58 CE), and then by Porcius
Festus (Procurator 58-62) who not
only inherited Paul's case but all other
problems left over by Felix, including
charges of favoritism. Festus is also
famous as having presided over the
dispute between King Agrippa II and
the Temple authorities in Jerusalem
over the obstruction of the view from
a new wing of the royal palace by
Temple walls. In the fall of 58 CE, Paul
appealed to Caesar and set out for
Rome. In the 3rd and 4th centuries,
the city ascended as a center of
Christian scholarship, boasting of a
large library containing the writing of
Church fathers as Origen, Eusebius,
and Pamphilus and was visited by
luminaries as Gregory Nazianzus,
Basil the Great, Jerome (translator of
the Latin Vulgate Bible), and others
who studied at Caesarea Maritima.
Notes on the photos:
The WANGNEWS masthead shows the
Roman aqueduct running along the
beachfront of the city.
The photo 45 degrees up on the left
shows the Greco-Roman love for
sculptures of the human body, a taste
abhorred by the Judeans.
The photo 45 degrees up on the right
shows the remains of the ancient
Roman columns and walkways. In the
misty backdrop are 3 modern smoke-
stacks of a fossil fuel electric power
generation station.
The next photo on the right shows
more ancient columns and in the
center background is a modern oil
tanker sailing past like a ghost on the
Mediterranean Sea.
These 2 previous photos are apt
reminders of the dependence of our
modern civilization on fossil fuel for
the generation of energy.
The next photo on the right shows a
sarcophagus - a funeral container,
usually made of limestone. This word
is derived from the Greek σαρξ sarx
meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein
meaning "to eat", hence the
composite "flesh-eating." Limestone
was thought to quickly decompose the
corpse placed inside a sarcophagus.
This photo shows the impermanence
of all things temporal.
The last photo on the left column
shows a "Sushi Restaurant" (click on
photo for larger view), but on closer
look from the ground, the place was
closed. No sushi lunch could be had
for that day (I found only 1 Chinese
restaurant during my travels in the
Holy Land - a photo later). Charleston
C. K. Wang, 05/28/2010.
| CLICK ON EACH THUMBNAIL PHOTOGRAPH FOR LARGER VIEW |
 |  |  |
| To view "Into the Heat of the Hebron Cauldon" click here. |
| To view "The Garden of Gethsemane and Church of All Nations" click here. |
| CAESAREA MARITIMA THE CITY OF CAESAR BY THE SEA AS KNOWN TO SAINT PAUL |
| To view "Pilgrimage to Bethlehem, Birthplace of Jesus," click here. |
| To read "The Wilderness of Abraham, Jesus & Israel- Palestine," click here. |
| To view "Herodion: A Fortress During the Gospels," click here. |
| To read "Descending to the Dead Sea and Ascending to Qumran," click here. |
| To view "The Call for Simon Peter, Fisherman," click here. |
| To read "Jury for Jericho," click here. |
