Son of Herod the Great. He heard about Jesus, listened to John the Baptist's teachings, met Jesus but sent him to Pilate (Mark 6:14%u201420; Luke 23:8).

Herod the Great rebuilt the Hasmonean foretress (Bira) in Jerusalem next to the Temple Mount and renamed it the Antonia after Mark Anthony. Roman troops were stationed here.

Greek god of love and beauty. Daughter of Zeus and Dione (or did she spring from foam in the sea?)

Greek god of light, music, and poetry. He is often pictured with bow and arrow; Son of Zeus and Leto.

The leaders that Jesus chose to bring his message to the world. Jesus first chose 12 men and then later Paul and some others became apostles.

A Roman emperor was declared to be divine when a witness came forward claiming to have seen the emperor ascend to heaven or claiming to have seen the emperor's father ascend to heaven (making the current emperor the "Son of God"). This process was called apotheosis.

Semicircular recess in a wall, especially in a church or Roman law court.

Town 17 miles north of Beersheba at the edge of the Negev and the Hebron Mountains. It was an important fortress city and protected the southern approaches to Jerusalem.

Greek god of war. Son of Zeus and Hera.

The Hebrew word means "box," or "chest." It contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ark of the covenant was as sign to the people of Israel that God was with them, and the cover represented God's throne.

Transliteration of the Hebrew har megiddon, which means literally the "hill of Megiddo." Revelation 16:16 uses this place to symbolize the final great battle between good and evil. Many battles were fought at this location because the main trade route went through a mountain pass nearby.

Greek god of marriage, chastity, hunting, and moonlight. Twin sister of Apollo, daughter of Zeus and Leto.

Greek and Roman god of healing. Son of Apollo and Coronis (the daughter of King Phlegyas in Thesaly). He has four daughters: Iaso, Aceso, Panacea, and Hygeia.

Philistine city-state on the Mediterranean Sea.

Canaanite goddess of fertility. She is portrayed as a nude female, sometimes pregnant, with exaggerated breasts that she holds out as symbols of her fertility. The Bible indicates that she was worshiped near trees and poles, called Asherah poles.

Philistine city-state on the Mediterranean Sea and the Via Maris trade route.

Hand-shaped stones (found near the Temple) brought from a quarry nearly a mile away. One 45-foot-long stone weighs nearly 600 tons.

Canaanite goddess of fertility and love. She is thought to be the daughter of the fertility goddess Asherah.

Nation in Mesopotamia that became a large empire in the time of the kings of Israel and Judah. Its capital was Ninevah. The Assyrians were extremely cruel and God used them to punish the northern kingdom for its Baal worship.

Molding on top of base or column.

Greek goddess of wisdom and skill. Daughter of Zeus.

A payment or offering to remove or forgive sins. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel sacrificed animals to show that atonement must be made for their sins. When Jesus came, he gave up his own life to make atonement for the sins of his people.

Slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant on which the golden cherubim stood. It symbolized God's throne.

Court of a Roman house, roofed at the sides and open in the middle; also the entrance to a Byzantine church.