Hermon, Mount

Snow-topped mountain, 2,814 m/9,232 ft high, on the Syria-Lebanon border, forming the southern extremity of the Anti-Lebanon range, on the border with Israel. According to tradition, Jesus was transfigured here.

Called Sirion by the Sidonians and Senir by the Amorites, the modern Arabs call it Jebel ash-Sheikh, ‘Old Man Mountain’, or Jebel-ath-Thelj, ‘snow mount’. The crown has three peaks covered with snow for part of the year, and it towers high above the ancient city of Dan and the sources of the Jordan. The lower slopes have rich vegetation and are planted with vines and fruit trees. Ruins of ancient temples surround it, mostly consecrated to Baal. Hebrew poetry constantly mentions Mount Hermon. The mountain was part of the disputed zone between Israel and Syria following the war of 1973.