When the Israelites Revolted Against the Ancient Greeks

For a long time, Ancient Israel was ruled by the Greeks. This dominion existed in the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s grand conquests. One large successor to his domain, the Seleucid Empire, ruled over the Israelites from 200 to the 160s BCE. But then, in that decade, a major Jewish revolt occurred. What do we know about this revolt, and what impact did it have on the area?

The background to the revolt

In the fourth century BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the entire Levant, as well as many other territories. After he died and his Empire split into multiple parts, the land of the Israelites (which by that time was known as Judea) became a zone of constant conflict.

The Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt and the Seleucid Dynasty of Syria engaged in numerous battles that involved that region. Eventually, the Seleucid Dynasty conquered the Israelite territory in 200 BCE. During their rule over the Israelites, they shared much of their Hellenistic culture and beliefs with them, but they generally respected the Israelites.

Unlike other empires, the Greek Seleucid Empire was tolerant of Judaism, the religion of the Israelites. They allowed them to continue having their temple services and other religious customs. However, that all changed later in the second century BCE.

The Greek Dynasty bans the religion of the Israelites

Antiochus IV Epiphanus came to the throne in 175 BCE. At first, everything was normal between this new Greek ruler and the Israelites. However, that all came to an end around 168 BCE. There is some debate as to what exactly happened, but scholars generally agree on the following:

Somehow, Antiochus IV was under the impression that the Israelites needed to be better controlled. Otherwise, they might rebel against the Greeks. Based on available records, we know that there was a violent dispute concerning the position of High Priest in Jerusalem. Antiochus sent Greek forces to Judea to sort out this Israelite conflict.

However, Antiochus then went far beyond just sorting out the dispute over the position of High Priest. Perhaps to try to prevent such a violent religious conflict from occurring again, he decided to ban the Jewish religion. He outlawed Jewish religious practices, such as the observance of the Sabbath or offering sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. Even owning a copy of the Jewish Scriptures ran the risk of the death penalty.

Beyond this, Antiochus even made a point of desecrating the temple. He sacrificed a pig, which was a religiously unclean animal to the Jews, on the altar at the temple and set up an idol of Zeus on the holy Temple Mount. This was highly offensive to the Jews, since the temple was sacred to their god Yahweh, or Jehovah.

The Israelites revolt against the Greeks

Ironically, Antiochus’ intense persecution of the Israelites actually led to them rebelling against the Greeks—the very thing he was trying to prevent. An Israelite priest named Mattathias started a fierce rebellion against the Greek authorities. They tried to compel the Israelites to sacrifice to the Greek gods, which was obviously a shocking act for them.

Mattathias refused to offer the sacrifice, and he then killed another Jew who was about to do so, as well as the Greek officer who ordered the sacrifice. Mattathias and his sons then fled into the wilderness and began building a large following.

Led by Mattathias and his sons, the Israelites fought against the Seleucid Greeks in guerrilla warfare for a few years. At some point during this period, Mattathias died and his son Judas Maccabeus became the new leader.

The Israelites recapture Jerusalem

By 165 or 164 BCE, Judas Maccabeus’ position had grown strong enough that he felt ready to reconquer the capital city of his homeland. He attacked the city of Jerusalem, drove out the Greek forces, and recaptured it for the Israelites.

He then rededicated the temple of Jerusalem to Jehovah. This event was enormously important for the Jews, for it was the restoration of what they considered to be true worship. The Jews still remember this event to this day. It is commemorated in the festival of Hanukkah.

Over the next few years, Maccabeus conquered more and more of Judea. The Israelites continued capturing more territory from the Greeks, such as the region of Galilee in the north.

The death of Judas Maccabeus

Judas Maccabeus had achieved some impressive feats. However, war between the Israelites and the Greeks continued for the next few years, and it was becoming clear that the Israelites were struggling. Judas sent an appeal to the Romans to be their allies.

While this appeal was accepted and the treaty between the Jews and the Romans was formed, it seems that this did not result in any direct action on the part of the Romans. There is no record of their sending troops to Judea to help fight against the Greeks at this point.

The Seleucid King was now Demetrius I Soter. He was determined to put down the Israelite revolt against the Greeks. In 160 BCE, he sent a large army under the command of a general named Bacchides. This large army of some twenty thousand soldiers crushed Judas’ forces and killed the leader of the revolt himself. For the moment, Greek control over Judea had been restored.