selfish ambition he drained the
resources of his kingdom, and was therefore obliged to resort to extreme
measures to replenish his treasury. In 170 B.C. he made a successful
campaign into Egypt. Two years later he again invaded the rich land of the
Nile, only to find himself confronted by a Roman general, who peremptorily
ordered him to retreat. Rome was already the chief power in the eastern
Mediterranean, and Antiochus, although in a rage, wisely decided to
retire. It was at this inopportune moment that he found Jerusalem in
revolt, misled by a false report and by the renegade high priest Jason.
Antiochus not only improved this opportunity to loot the temple and slay
many of the inhabitants, but from this time on conceived a bitter
antipathy to the Jewish race. This antipathy he shared in common with all
the Greek world, for already, as a result of the peculiar religion and
customs of the Jews and their success in commercial pursuits, that which
is known to-day as the anti-Semitic spirit was fully developed. One of
Antiochus's chief ambitions was also to hellenize all his subjects, and
the Jews alone offered opposition to the realization of this ambition.
Hence they could expect no mercy at the hands of this selfish, capricious
despot.

VII. Antiochus's Policy toward the Jews. The measures which Antiochus
employed to crush the faith of Judaism were relentlessly thorough. He
began with the seizure of Jerusalem, the tearing down of its walls, the
fortifying and garrisoning of its citadel with Syrian soldiers and
apostate Jews, and the slaughter of all who refused to accede to his
demands. Not only was the temple service stopped, but the altar was torn
down and desecrated and a heathen altar to Zeus--the abominable desolation
of the book of Daniel--was reared in its place. On this swine's flesh was
sacrificed, and the presence of harlots in the sacred precincts completed
its ceremonial and moral pollution. All the surviving inhabitants of
Jerusalem were compelled to sacrifice and pay homage to the heathen gods.
Those who retained copies of their laws or persisted in maintaining the
customs of their fathers were slain. When many fled to the outlying towns,
emissaries of Antiochus pursued them, demanding of each citizen public
recognition of the Greek gods. A majority of the Jews apparently yielded
to these drastic measures and joined the ranks of the apostates. Of the
many crises through which Israel passed this was in ma