Greek Empire
In 333 BC the Persian Empire was seized by a young Greek king, Alexander the Great. Within the next two years, Alexander progressed through Syria and captured Egypt and erected the city of Alexandria in his name. This later became an important city for the Jews as a centre of education and scholarship, especially for the Greek interpretation of the Bible. After Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his empire was divided into two parts, each becoming a kingdom under one of Alexander’s generals. One was the kingdom of Egypt, ruled by Ptolemy. The other was the kingdom of Asia, ruled by Seleucus.
For the next hundred years, the Palestine was within the kingdom of Ptolemy. It was left relatively free and could continue its spiritual traditions and community life. Gradually the Greek culture began to grow. This led to divisions between those Jews who continued faithful to Jewish traditions and those who did not. In 200 BC conditions changed and Antiochus, the successor of Seleucus, pursued to impose Greek religion and culture upon all in his kingdom, including the Jews.
Antiochus conducted a harsh oppression of the Jews between 167 and 164 BC. On the 15th of December 167 BC, he had the Temple in Jerusalem desecrated and an altar built to the Greek god, Zeus. Many Jews counterattacked Antiochus, as they remained faithful to God, even under torment to the point of death. This led to a rebellion headed by a bulbous Jew, Judas Maccabeus, and his family. Judas made a treaty with the Romans who had a policy of supporting the rebels in areas beyond their borders.
Over the next forty years a degree of independence was attained as the Maccabees fought for free will. They were aided by the fact that the Romans wanted concord. This led the Romans to pressure the heir of Antiochus to make peace with the Jews. The Maccabee family became the High Priestly family in Jerusalem and the Jewish people who remained faithful to God separated into three sects – the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. These three groups continued to exist during the period of Jesus.
For the next hundred years, the Palestine was within the kingdom of Ptolemy. It was left relatively free and could continue its spiritual traditions and community life. Gradually the Greek culture began to grow. This led to divisions between those Jews who continued faithful to Jewish traditions and those who did not. In 200 BC conditions changed and Antiochus, the successor of Seleucus, pursued to impose Greek religion and culture upon all in his kingdom, including the Jews.
Antiochus conducted a harsh oppression of the Jews between 167 and 164 BC. On the 15th of December 167 BC, he had the Temple in Jerusalem desecrated and an altar built to the Greek god, Zeus. Many Jews counterattacked Antiochus, as they remained faithful to God, even under torment to the point of death. This led to a rebellion headed by a bulbous Jew, Judas Maccabeus, and his family. Judas made a treaty with the Romans who had a policy of supporting the rebels in areas beyond their borders.
Over the next forty years a degree of independence was attained as the Maccabees fought for free will. They were aided by the fact that the Romans wanted concord. This led the Romans to pressure the heir of Antiochus to make peace with the Jews. The Maccabee family became the High Priestly family in Jerusalem and the Jewish people who remained faithful to God separated into three sects – the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. These three groups continued to exist during the period of Jesus.