The Maccabees: The Temple Defiled and Reclaimed

When Alexander the Great died, his empire was divided among his generals. The Seleucid dynasty eventually controlled Syria and Judea. Under Antiochus IV Epiphanes — who took the title Epiphanes (God Manifest) and was mocked by his subjects as Epimanes (the madman) — Hellenization became compulsion.

Antiochus decrees that everyone in his kingdom must abandon their customs and become one people. Jewish law is outlawed: the Torah is burned, circumcision is forbidden on pain of death, the Sabbath is prohibited. In Jerusalem, the Temple is desecrated. An altar to Zeus is built over the altar of burnt offering. A pig is sacrificed on it. This event — the abomination of desolation referenced in Daniel and later in the New Testament — is the provocation that triggers the revolt.

In the village of Modein, a priest named Mattathias refuses to sacrifice to foreign gods. When another Jew steps forward to comply, Mattathias kills him and the king's officer, tears down the altar, and flees to the hills with his five sons. His battle cry becomes the name of the movement: Whoever is zealous for the Law and supports the covenant, follow me!

His son Judas Maccabeus (the Hammer) takes command and leads a guerrilla campaign against the Seleucid forces. Against all odds, the Maccabees drive the Syrian army from Jerusalem. They enter the Temple and find it in desolation — the altar defiled, the gates burned, the priests' chambers wrecked. They cleanse it, build a new altar, and rededicate the sanctuary.

They celebrate the rededication for eight days — a ceremony that becomes the festival of Hanukkah. The account in I Maccabees does not include the miracle of the oil extending for eight days; that tradition comes from the Talmud. What I Maccabees celebrates is military and spiritual victory: the Temple reclaimed by those willing to die for it.