A Hanukkah Guide for the Perplexed

Hanukkah, the holiday of light, is narrated in the four Books of the Maccabees, the Scroll of Antiochus and Josephus's "The Wars of the Jews." The Greek Empire was divided among the four generals of Alexander the Great, who held Judaism in high esteem, following his death (323 BCE). In 175 BCE, the Seleucid/Syrian Emperor Antiochus (IV) Epiphanies claimed the Land of Israel and suspected that the Jews were allies of his Ptolemaic/Egyptian enemy. Therefore, he aimed to exterminate Judaism and convert Jews to Hellenism. In 169 BCE he devastated Jerusalem, massacred the Jews and prohibited the practice of Judaism.