Free Republic

Were it not for its proximity to Christmas, Hanukkah would be unknown to most non-Jews and it would not be celebrated by most non-religious Jews. The proof is that the other post-Hebrew Bible holiday, Purim, while very popular in Israel, where it is sort of a Jewish Mardi Gras, is essentially unknown to non-Jews and largely ignored by most American Jews. Too bad. Hanukkah is actually of seminal importance both to Judaism and to the world. SNIP To understand why Judaism so bothered Antiochus, one needs to understand that no pagan religion completely rejected Hellenism. Judaism did. If Antiochus wanted...

A bronze coin that was in circulation in the time of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who decreed that the Jews must be annihilated and during whose reign the Maccabean revolt made famous in the Chanukah story took place, has been discovered at the Tower of David archaeological site in Jerusalem. The discovery, made during routine maintenance work, was a surprise to archaeologists working at the Tower of David citadel. The archaeologists believed they had thoroughly excavated the site during the last few decades. Nevertheless, chief conservator Orna Cohen noticed a metal object among the stones of the Hasmonean Wall inside...

We are in the midst of the Hanukkah season, the eight-day festival that commemorates the second century BC victory of Judah Maccabee and his family over the forces of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. It was a remarkable, almost miraculous, victory. Antiochus was close to achieving the long-time Seleucid goal of recreating the empire of Alexander the Great. He and his predecessors had annexed Turkey, Mesopotamia, Persia and parts of India. They solidified their control of Judaea and came close to turning Egypt into a satellite kingdom as well. Like so many ancient rulers, Antiochus fixated on the idea he...