Extra!!! Extra!!! Jews Start Revolt
-Hunter McCann
Greece Takes Control
After the death of Alexander, the Greeks took full control over the Jews. The Jews were no longer allowed to praise their God freely without strong persecution. Antiochus III was the supreme leader over the Greeks and the Hellenized Jews at this point. Antiochus took over the Jewish Temple and dedicated it to Zeus (one of the Greek gods). The Temple was now called "Temple of Olympian Zeus". Mattathias Maccabeus was a country priest who stood up against one of Antiochus' men. He refused to do an idol sacrifice to the Greek Gods. This one action brought the Jews together against the Greek rule.
Jews Take a Stand
Now that the Jews have banded together, they can take a stand against the Greek powers. Mattathias sadly died when the revolt was just starting. He gave his power to one of his five sons, Judah. Judah was a very strong leader and was now in charge of leading the revolt. Antiochus sent his weak generals on the Jews because he underestimated their power. Once the Jews were understood to be a great threat, they were outnumbered by Antiochus' solders. The Jews still put up a great fight and defeated the Greek's rule. The Jews are now able to worship their God once more and rededicated their temple to God. The holiday of Hanukah was instituted to celebrate the rededication of the temple and the miracle of the oil. Oil that was only supposed to last one day lasted eight days until more oil was able to be changed.