The Woman from Paneas

The River Jordan rises from the ground in copious springs at Banias.

The Jews regarded Herod Antipas' new capital of Tiberias with loathing because it had been built on the site of a graveyard. No Jew would enter the city because it was "unclean", which is probably why it is never mentioned in the Bible: more than likely Jesus never went near the place. He was a rabbi with a reputation to keep up.

Mind you, Jews also regarded pagan shrines as "unclean", so it is a little strange that while Jesus would not walk 4 miles to enter Tiberias, He did once walk 40 in order to visit the foremost heathen shrine in the area - Paneas, the sanctuary of the nature god Pan.

What makes it even more strange is that He didn't appear to have any good reason for going there. He walked 40 miles, had a short conversation with His disciples, and then walked 40 miles back again.

In this film I draw upon modern archaeology and ancient literature in order to come up with plausible reason for this extraordinary behaviour - and along the way you get to see the fascinating shrines of Paneas, including the Shrine of the Dancing Goats!