Judaean and Seleucid politics were more convoluted than a season of House of Cards, which is part of the reason most of the context is been ignored in religious education. The usual summary, in a tweet, is this: King Antiochus prohibited the practice of Judaism and defiled the Temple. The Maccabees led a revolt, defeated the Greeks, and rededicated the Temple. Liberators find one day’s worth of oil for the Eternal Flame but miraculously it lasts eight days. –But what was behind Antiochus’s decision? First, let’s follow the money.
Antiochus, fourth of his name, inherited an empire in debt. His father, Antiochus III, secured Judaea from the Egyptian Ptolemies in 198 BCE and wanted to ensure the stability of this important border region. Antiochus III offered sacrifices and money to the Temple in Jerusalem to persuade Judaeans to support him, and offered tax relief to the elite. His military luck ran out when he lost spectacularly to the Romans in Asia Minor in the Battle of Magnesia (190-189 BCE). This resulted in a crushing, long-term indemnity payable to Rome. Think Germany at the end of World War I.
In an effort to drum up funds, Antiochus III went off to pilfer his subjects and temples of his empire. He died in the east. His eldest son, Seleucus IV, looking for an easy escape from his financial straits, learns that Jerusalem has a well-stocked treasury. The treasury is used in part to support widows and orphans, but like most religious centers of the period, the Temple was also used as a bank where the elite stored their wealth. Who would dare rob a temple? A financially-strapped king, of course.
Seleucus sent his minister, Heliodorus, to demand funds from the Temple treasury. The High Priest, Onias III, refused. Heliodorus was prepared to take the treasure by force, but he was attacked and left empty handed. According to 2 Maccabees, “a great apparition” of a rider on horseback appeared, accompanied by young men who flogged the minister from the Temple grounds. King Seleucus presumably did not buy this ghost story, so Heliodorus assassinated him.
Antiochus IV succeeded his brother in 175 BCE, jumping the claims of Seleucus’s son. Like his brother and father, Antiochus needed money to pay off the Romans, and this is where Judaean politics comes in.
Joshua (or Jesus), the younger brother of High Priest Onias III, was an ambitious man and a Hellenizer. (The fact he uses the Greek name Jason is a clue.) He offers Antiochus a premium if the king appoints him High Priest in place of his brother. (The High Priest is effectively the ruler of semi-autonomous Judaea, answerable only to the king and the council of elders). The High Priest must be from the tribe of Levy and a descendant of Aaron (Cohen). By tradition he is a descendant of Zadok, a particular lineage within the Cohanim. Seleucid kings appointed the High Priest based on the recommendation of the Judaean elite—until now. For the first time, the position of High Priest is for sale.
Jason’s payoff also included the right for Judaea to mint its own coins; to build a gymnasium in Jerusalem; for Jews to participate in Greek style athletic-military training; and to “enroll the Antiochenes in Jerusalem.” The meaning of the last phrase is disputed, but clearly represented an increase in status or rights of Jerusalemites, at least for the elite. It may have put Jerusalem on par with other Hellenized cities.
These changes annoyed the traditionalists. It is hypothesized the organization of the pious, the hasidim (no relation to the 18th century Hasidic movement) began at this time (and in the Hasmonean era split into the Pharisaic and Essene movements).
Antiochus was motivated by the promise of extra cash and by the expectation that Jason would be amenable to giving up Temple treasure. But Jason was no radical. Coming from the priestly line, he refused to hand over the Temple treasure, just like his brother. But some years later when Jason sent an envoy to Antioch to pay tribute, the envoy did unto Jason as Jason did to Onias: he outbid him.
The envoy, Menelaus, is a radical Hellenizer, so Antiochus must have been assured there would be no obstacle to plundering the Temple. In fact, it was Menelaus’s brother, in a turf battle with Onias, who informed Seleucus IV the Temple had funds to spare in the first place. Menelaus is appointed High Priest, and Jason fled across the Jordan River. Plot twist.
Menelaus was not of the priestly line. He was not even a Levite. Worse, he stole from the Temple to pay off Antiochus. Even worse, he had Onias III assassinated in Egypt. The Judaeans are angry, even a spark could set them off. The spark took the form of a rumor.
In 168 BCE Antiochus IV decided it was an auspicious time to invade Egypt (who doesn’t love Egypt in the spring?) but a rumor made the rounds that he died. Jason returned from Jordan and attacked Jerusalem, hoping to win back the position of High Priest. He killed many of his opponents, which considerably dimmed the hope for reconciliation. Supporters of Menelaus fled to Egypt and reported to Antiochus that a “pro-Ptolemy faction” had taken over the city.
Antiochus, meanwhile, had other problems in Egypt. His gambit was largely successful and he defeated the army of the Ptolemies, winning control of most of Egypt except the capital, Alexandria. Enter the Romans. Rome is stretching its wings. They’ve defeated Carthage, the Seleucids, and made a good showing in Greece. They’ve already got their eye on Egypt, they’ve started to import grain, and they don’t want anything rocking the trireme. A message arrives from the Roman Senate for Antiochus, saying, essentially, GTFO. Antiochus asks the Roman ambassador if he might have some time to think it over. The Roman draws a circle in the dirt around Antiochus with a stick and tells him to answer before stepping out of the circle.
Humiliated and in something of a bad mood, Antiochus withdraws from Egypt. On his way back home to Antioch, in Syria, he makes a side trip to Jerusalem and puts down the insurrection, brutally. He takes almost everything of value and leaves Menelaus in charge. To ensure everyone is miserable, he raises taxes. The following year, 167, Antiochus is back. Apparently taxes have not been paid. For some reason this stiff-necked people will not submit. It’s clear the rebellion is energized and sustained by a degree of religious fanaticism. Antiochus’s answer: eradicate the religion. After plundering and defiling the Temple, he has it rededicated to Olympian Zeus and prohibits all Jewish practice in Judaea. The prohibition does not apply to Jewish communities in diaspora communities in Syria or Iraq. These communities are not in rebellion, and they are more liberal and assimilated. Antiochus expands the garrison in Jerusalem and leaves overseers to ensure the ban is carried out. Greek soldiers and overseers are to travel throughout Judaea, forcing Jews to sacrifice to Zeus and to eat pork.
When an overseer comes to Modiin, he asks one of the elders to set an example for the community. Mattathias does exactly that: he kills a Jew who was willing to make the sacrifice, kills the overseer and sets off the Maccabean Revolt.
You know the rest.