Page 18 2023 Home For The Holidays Lincoln Daily News November 23, 2022 The history and miracle of Hanukkah Hanukkah is something Jews all over the world celebrate today, but did you know it dates back many centuries? A National Geographic article by Amy Briggs says Hanukkah’s origins “date back to the turbulent centuries following the death of Alexander the Great, the ancient Macedonian leader who conquered the Persian Empire.” Here is some history of Hanukkah and the ways it is celebrated. As Briggs explains, after Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., there was a century long struggle for power between his generals. In the struggle, it was Greco-Syrian Seleucid kings who won the victory and then ruled many of the territories Alexander had ruled. During this time, Briggs says “Seleucids exerted their influence through Hellenization, the spread of Greek art, architecture, and religion. Local communities, especially in Judea, resisted it.” When Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes became king, he attempted to “force Judeans to assimilate.” The Jerusalem temple was captured, and Seleucids placed an altar to the Greek god Zeus in it. Continued --
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