)
Over the course of hundreds of years, the Greeks developed an advanced culture that accomplished a great deal in science, philosophy, literature, art, architecture, military strategy, and politics. Gradually, Ancient Greece became an empire. At its peak, Alexander the Great began a military campaign, and conquered vast expanses of territory – Asia Minor, the Land of Israel, Egypt, and the entire mighty Persian Empire as far as India – within just three years (3426-3429, or 334-331 BCE).
After Alexander died, this vast territory was divided into several smaller Greek kingdoms. As a result of the conquests, Greek culture spread throughout the world, consuming all other cultures, and forming a single Hellenistic civilization. The Syrian-Greeks ruled over Judea too, and Hellenism spread. However, the Jewish people were different from the other nations, so Hellenization proceeded relatively slowly in Judea. Nonetheless, over the course of 160 years of Greek rule, the Hellenist influence grew stronger, primarily over the wealthy Jews, who built a gymnasium near the Holy Temple for sports competitions. It reached the point where the High Priests, Jason and Menelaus, were leading supporters of Hellenism. They preferred watching sports competitions to serving in the Temple.
In 3591 (169 BCE), Antiochus IV Epiphanes began oppressing the Jews. Under his rule, the Greeks plundered the Temple's holy vessels, breached the walls of Jerusalem, murdered thousands of Jews, and sold many others into slavery. Two years later, Antiochus made anti-Torah decrees. He made it a capital crime to study Torah and do mitzvot, abolished the sacrificial service, and turned the Temple into a place of idolatry. Torah scrolls were torn and burned. His soldiers went from town to town forcing the Jews to eat pork and erect altars for idol worship. They prohibited the practice of brit mila, and executed Jewish women who insisted on circumcising their sons. As a result of these decrees, many pious Jews fled to caves in the desert or left the country. Many others chose martyrdom, thus sanctifying God’s name.
