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How did Antiochus IV’s policy of Hellenization contribute to the Maccabean uprising?

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Mythological figure — Hellenistic age The figure, who is possibly Dionysus, riding a panther, a Hellenistic opus tessellatum emblema from the House of Masks in Delos, Greece, 2nd century bce.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ policy of Hellenization was a primary catalyst for the Maccabean uprising, as it sought to impose Greek culture and institutions upon the Jewish population, directly threatening their religious autonomy.12

Antiochus supported a reformist Jewish faction that favored Hellenism, allowing the high priest Jason to establish a gymnasium in Jerusalem and introduce Greek educational practices. Tensions escalated when Antiochus replaced Jason with Menelaus, an even more extreme Hellenizer, leading to civil conflict.132

Following his return from a failed campaign in Egypt, Antiochus took drastic measures to enforce Hellenization. He garrisoned Jerusalem, outlawed core Jewish religious practices—such as circumcision and Sabbath observance—and erected an altar to Zeus Olympios in the Temple, an act known as the "abomination of desolation".12

These actions were perceived as a direct assault on the Jewish faith, prompting the priest Mattathias and his sons, the Maccabees, to lead a guerrilla war against the Seleucid authorities. The revolt was fueled by the resistance of those who viewed these Hellenizing policies as an intolerable desecration of their religious identity and law.132