1 8 The Breakup of the Greek Empire

1. 8 The Break-up of the Greek Empire (320 -166 B. C. ) • After the death of Alexander the Great, the Greek empire was divided into 4 parts. The Hebrew/Jewish people came under the rule of the Ptolemies (an Egyptian royal family). They treated the Jews well…at least for a while Ptolemy I – founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty

• North of Palestine, where most of the Jews lived, was Syria. • They were under the rule of the Seleucids…a vicious people, under the rule of Antiochus Epiphanes. • He hated anything and everything Jewish • Antiochus pushed Hellenism (Greek culture) to the extreme…wanting all his subjects to worship Greek gods, speak Greek, and follow Greek customs

• He even went so far as to construct an altar to the mythical Greek god, Zeus, in the Jewish temple, and demanded they worship it! • Jews who most strongly opposed this persecution were called Hasidism or Hasidic Jews, which means “pious” or “humble”. Archaeologists discovered these coins which are believed to bear Antiochus’ image and likeness

The Backlash! • This persecution went on for some time until 168 BC, when a village priest named Mattathias refused to offer sacrifices to the altar of Zeus • When the Seleucid king heard about this, he sent a representative to investigate, and Mattathias killed him. He then fled with his sons into the wilderness.

• Soon after, Mattathias died but his son, Judas Maccabeus, carried on the revolt. • Joined by the Hasidic Jews living in the area, the Jewish people captured Jerusalem in 165 BC. • In December of that year, they had refurnished the temple, purified it of Greek filth, and rededicated it to God – an event commemorated by the Jews in the Feast of Lights, or Hannukah