Sussita/Hippos

Sussita (Aramaic), Hippos in Greek, (both mean “horse”) is located 1.2 mi. [2 km.] east of the eastern shore line of the Sea of Galilee—east of Kibbutz En Gev. The top of the site is about 990 ft. [300 m.] above the level of the Sea of Galilee.

Here a Greco-Roman city was built by the Seleucids around 250 B.C. The city was expanded and became one of the cites of the “Decapolis.” It guarded the road that led from Scythopolis to Damascus.

Excavations have uncovered the cardo maximus, city gates, three churches, a Hellenistic Temple, a center for emperor worship, city walls, a plaza, etc.!

It was destroyed by the earthquake of A.D. 749. It served as an Israeli military outpost from 1948 until 1967—with Syrian troops encircling it on the high ground on all sides except the west.

For a convenient presentation of the finds from Sussita see: Segal, Arthur and Michael Eisenberg. “The Spade Hits Sussita.” Biblical Archaeology Review 32, no. 3 (May/June, 2006): 41–51, 78.