Hi Lilacs,
The Jewish festival of Hanuka is upon it, and it occurred to me that
the Squad may be interested in the history, since we have a collective
interest in the growth and influence of Greek thought and culture,
particularly following the birth of Greek philosophy in the 5th century
BCE.
In the second century BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes rose in power as ruler
of the Seleucid empire, and embarked on a programme to impose Greek
Hellenic culture and religion throughout his empire, which included the
Holy Land and Jerusalem. Antiochus took issue with several Jewish
practices, but one of the most bizarre things to cause offence was the
practice of "witnessing" the new moon for a new calendar month to be
officially declared (as happens today in Islam).
Perhaps the Greeks considered this as man putting himself above nature!
Antiochus's campaign became progressively more violent and severe,
leading ultimately to the desecration of the Jewish temple, which became
a temple for pagan worship. Adopting guerrilla tactics, the Maccabees
led a successful revolt and ultimately achieved independence. It is
their rededication of the temple in Jerusalem that is the focus of the
Hanuka festival.
Jonathan B. Marder <MARDER@agri.huji.ac.il>
Department of Agricultural Botany, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Faculty of Agriculture, P.O.Box 12, Rehovot 76100, ISRAEL
Phone: +972 8 9481918 Fax: +972 8 9467763
Web page: http://www.agri.huji.ac.il/~marder
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