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About 2200 years ago, the land of Judea (now known as Israel) was inhabited mostly by Jews, although Judea was often under foreign government. Usually the Jews were allowed their religious freedom, and were mostly content as long as they could practice the Jewish faith. The time under Alexander the Great was particularly peaceful, as he had no problems with the religion of Judaism, and even promised to protect the land from attack.
Soon after his death though, the land came under the rule of the Greeks, and in particular Antiochus IV. Antiochus despised Judaism, thinking everyone should worship the Greek gods as he and his people did. Very soon he decreed that the Jews were forbidden to practice their religion, and those that disobeyed would be put to death.
Many atrocious acts against the Jews were committed by Antiochus' guards, all to convince them that they stood no chance against the Greek army and they would be much better off simply bowing to the statues of the Greek gods (one of which was placed right outside the entrance to the sacred Jewish Temple of Judea). The Greeks even went so far as to trash the inside of the Temple, spilling the sacred oil used to light the candles inside and even letting pigs inside.
Mattathias was a prominent Jewish priest at the time, forced to endure this humiliation. Yet never did he give in to the Greeks' wishes, not once did he bow before their statues, and never did he give up his faith. One day on the Greek guards was ordered by Antiochus to force Mattathias to bow to the statue of Zeus outside the Temple. Mattathias refused, but another frightened Jew did not, running to the statue and falling to his knees. Mattathias became furious at the sight of this traitor, grabbing the sword from the Greek guard and slaying both the offending Jew and the guard.
Mattathias knew their was no turning back now, and formed a group of Jews which came to be known as the Maccabees (the Hammerers), leading them into the hills where they could not easily be found. They grew in numbers over the years, leading successful raids on Antiochus' army and getting help from the Jews who stayed behind. Eventually Mattathias died of old age, and his son Judah took over the Maccabees. They continued to practice their faith in the hills, telling the young ones their sacred stories and teaching them the Jewish practices.
Eventually Antiochus grew frustrated with the Maccabees failure to give up to him, and gathered a massive force to take care of them once and for all. Judah had spies within the Greek army and soon became aware of Antiochus' plan. The Maccabees, however, only numbered about 3,000 people, while the Greek army had over 20,000 men and a group of elephants. Things appeared hopeless to many of the Maccabees, but they continued to look and pray to their God.
Soon came the day when Antiochus' ordered his attack, and the entire Greek army appeared within Judah and the Maccabees sight. They knew they must fight, even if it meant ignoring some of Judaism's laws. They knew that God needed his servants alive. They also knew they were far outnumbered, and so utilized a number of brilliant tactics. They used their knowledge of the hills to surprise their foes; they slew the lead elephant so that all the others became confused and ran away; they sent spies into the army to find out their next plans. They slowly chipped away at the large Greek army, and the war dragged on for years.
Antiochus soon realized the Jews could not be beaten, and admitted defeat. The Greek army backed away, giving the Jews their land and freedom back. Antiochus was so disgraced that he drowned himself. The Maccabees rejoiced in their victory, and Jewish people from all over the land came to join them. At the sight of their Temple they became dismaybe, filthy and in ruins as it was. But they set to work, cleaning the Temple until it was spotless, creating new sacred books, making new tables and chairs. A woman who was helping found a single cannister of oil, enough to light the seven-candled Menorah for one day. The Menorah was sacred to the Jews, and was to be kept lit at all times.
Upon the lighting of the Menorah some of the Jews set out to make new oil. When they were done it had taken eight days, and they saw that the Menorah was still burning bright. Even though the oil they had found had only been enough for one day, it had managed to last until they had a fresh supply. They considered this a blessing from God, and to this day these events are commemorated in a celebration known as Hanukkah.
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