How does the Festival of Hanukkah commemorate the victories of the Maccabees?

The festival of Hanukkah commemorates the military victories of the Maccabees over the Seleucid forces of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the subsequent rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 164 BCE.12

Led by Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabeus, the Maccabees fought to defend Jewish religious practices against forced Hellenization. After reclaiming the Temple, which had been desecrated by the dedication to Zeus, Judas Maccabeus ordered its purification and the installation of a new altar. He proclaimed that the rededication should be celebrated annually for eight days beginning on Kislev 25.2

While the Books of the Maccabees focus on the restoration of Jewish practice, later tradition—specifically the Babylonian Talmud—emphasizes a miracle: a single day’s supply of consecrated oil burned for eight days. This account shifted the focus of the holiday toward the divine miracle, leading to the custom of lighting candles to publicize the event.13