Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

352
HISTORY OF PERSIA
had become part of the possessions of the house of
Seleucus.
Since the conquests of Alexander the Great, who had
transported some Jewish prisoners to Hyrcania, the cities
of Syria, whether Canaanite, Phihstine, or Phoenician, had
become hellenized, either by an influx of Greek colonists,
as in the case of Samaria, or through the all-pervading
influence of the dominant race. There is proof from
Josephus and from both books of the Maccabees that
Jerusalem also was hellenized, a fact which was marked
by the erection of a gymnasium in Jerusalem at the request
of a Jewish deputation. The city was divided between
those who saw with approval their youth practising Greek
athletics in a state of nudity and those who rigidly main-
tained the old traditions. Antiochus, who was mainly
concerned with the question of tribute, would in all probability
have allowed the Jews to manage or mismanage
their petty local affairs ; but he was forced to take action
because during his absence in Egypt they rose on behalf
of the house of Ptolemy. Consequently, upon his return
he entered Jerusalem and not only spoiled the Temple as
recorded in the quotation from Josephus at the head of
this chapter, but even entered the Holy of holies. Nor
was this all, for he determined to hellenize Jerusalem, and
in pursuance of this policy forbade the rite of circumcision,
and erected a Greek altar on the old Jewish altar in the
court of the Temple, and caused swine to be sacrificed upon
it. These outrages goaded the Jews to resist. They won
brilliant victories under Judas Maccabaeus, and upon the
death of Antiochus they were granted full liberty to worship
according to the Jewish rites, together with an amnesty.
Demetrius the Saviour^ 162-150 B.C.— After the death
of Antiochus Epiphanes, his son, a boy of nine, succeeded
to the throne under the guardianship of a certain Lysias,
whose incapacity and corruption produced a hopeless state
of anarchy, culminating in the murder of a Roman envoy
in 163-162 B.C. Demetrius, son of Seleucus IV., who had
been living in Rome as a hostage, seizing the opportunity,
landed at Tripolis in Phoenicia, was welcomed by the army
and the people, and occupied the throne in 162 b.c.