In 168 B.C., Antiochus IV Epiphanes soldiers descended upon Jerusalem, massacring thousands of people and desecrating the city’s holy 2nd Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls. Ancient sources recount that he outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, proved less benevolent. Around 200 B.C., Judea - which is modern-day Israel/Palestine - came under the control of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, who allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. The events that inspired the Hanukkah holiday took place during a particularly turbulent phase of Jewish history. The history of Hanukkah has various starting and ending points. Which translates to “Who is like You, God.” The Maccabee name was formed from the first letters of a Hebrew phrase, *Historically, these Jews were later referred to as the Maccabees. of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem, where Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. The 8day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah commemorates the rededication during the 2nd century B.C.
