History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich

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СКАЧАТЬ however, was determined to foil this stratagem of the Romans. A Judæan seer thus graphically describes his accession to the throne:—

      "And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person to whom they had not given the honour of the kingdom; but he shall come suddenly, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.... And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up and shall become strong, with a small number of people. Suddenly shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance." (Daniel xi. 21–24.)

      It was in the execution of his designs to deceive the Romans that he introduced in Antioch the Roman gladiatorial combats, in which prisoners of war or slaves were made to fight each other with arms until one succumbed or was killed. Antiochus had entirely banished from his soul the fear of any deity; "he neither reverenced the gods of his ancestors, nor any god whatever, for above all he magnified himself." The Judæans were now in the hands of this monster, who had a heart of stone, and scorned alike man and law, morality and religion. If peace had reigned in Judæa, the country might have escaped his notice, but the discord which the Hellenists had excited there directed his attention towards the Judæan people and their land. The Hellenist party themselves requested his interference in the internal affairs of Judæa, directing his notice to Hyrcanus, whom they hated, and who, residing in his castle near Hesbon, collected the taxes from the Arabian or Nabatæan inhabitants of the land in the name of the king of Egypt. Hyrcanus, dreading an ignominious death, committed suicide, and Antiochus seized all his property.

      The Hellenists then carried out their long-cherished plan of divesting their other enemy, the high-priest Onias, of his dignity. The brother of the latter, called Jesus or Jason, promised Antiochus a large sum if he would transfer the high-priesthood to him; and the needy king did not scruple to grant the request. Onias, who journeyed to Antioch, to bring charges against his enemies, was denounced as a partisan of the Ptolemies, and the accuser thus became the accused. The Hellenists, or rather the high-priest, next petitioned Antiochus that those Judæans who were trained for the Greek combats should be registered as Antiochians or Macedonians, and as such be entitled to the privileges of full citizenship, and admitted to all public meetings and games of the Greeks. Games were serious occupations to the Greeks, not mere amusements, but rather the aim and end of life. The Grecian settlers in Palestine and Phœnicia maintained the national tie with their brethren at home by introducing the Olympian games, held every four years, in the land of the barbarians, and such of the latter as were allowed to take part in these games felt themselves greatly honoured by their admission to the Greek nobility.

      By introducing gymnasia into Jerusalem, Jason and the Hellenists hoped to obtain the right of Greek citizenship for the Judæans, and thus to diminish the hatred and contempt from which they suffered. As soon as Antiochus had conceded the privilege for which the Hellenists had petitioned, Jason took great interest in superintending the exercises which were to be practised before the Judæans could take part in the Olympian games. The high-priest selected (174) a site for the games in the Birah or Acra (Acropolis), north-west of the Temple. It comprised a gymnasium for youths and an ephebeion for boys. Greek masters were most probably hired to teach the Judæan men and youths their games, which consisted in racing, jumping, wrestling, in throwing discs, and boxing. It soon became evident, however, that these games, which owed their origin to quite a different mode of life, were incompatible with Judaism. According to Greek custom, the men who took part in these contests were naked. The Judæan youths who consented to compete were therefore compelled to overcome their feeling of shame and appear naked in sight of the Temple. Besides, in uncovering their bodies they could immediately be recognised as Judæans. But were they to take part in the Olympian games, and expose themselves to the mockery of the Greek scoffers? Even this difficulty they evaded by undergoing a painful operation, so as to disguise the fact that they were Judæans. Youths soon crowded to the gymnasium, and the young priests neglected their duties at the Temple to take part in the exercises of the palæstra and the stadium. The pious saw with terror this adoption of foreign customs, but they held their peace. Meanwhile even Jason's confederates were dissatisfied with his leaning to Greek manners, when it led to the denial of the fundamental truths of Judaism. When (June, 172) the Olympian games were celebrated at Tyre, at which sacrifices were offered up to the Greek god Hercules, the alleged founder of these combats, Jason sent as ambassadors men who were practiced in these games, and entitled to take part in them. According to custom, they were entrusted with a money contribution to be devoted to sacrifices to Hercules. But the ambassadors, although Greek at heart, felt conscience-stricken at the manner in which this sum was to be employed; it seemed to stamp them as idolaters, and to prove their belief in the divinity of a marble statue. They therefore accepted the commission on condition that the disposal of the money they took with them was to be left to their own discretion. The belief in Israel's God was too deeply rooted even in the hearts of those men who were partial to the Greek customs, and attached to the Hellenistic party to admit of this desecration. Jason's ambassadors gave the money as a contribution to the fleet which Antiochus was fitting out at Tyre.

      Meanwhile the dissensions in Jerusalem increased so greatly that pernicious consequences could not fail to follow. The Hellenists were devising intrigues to overthrow Jason, and to have the office of high-priest placed under their own control. They were impelled to this either by feelings of ambition, or by the fear that the brother of Onias was too partial to Judaism, and not sufficiently energetic, to overthrow the patriarchal customs. One of their number, Onias Menelaus, an unscrupulous man, and a brother of that Simon who had denounced Onias, and revealed the existence of the treasures in the Temple, was to be made high-priest. Jason sent the annual contributions to the king through Menelaus, who promised to increase them by 300 talents, if he were made high-priest. He boasted of his great credit, which would enable him to further the king's cause more energetically than Jason. Antiochus did not scruple to transfer the dignity of the high-priest to the highest bidder (172–171). He immediately sent Sostrates, one of his officers, with a troop of Cyprian soldiers, to Jerusalem, to subdue any opposition that might be made, and to watch over the punctual delivery of the promised sums. Sostrates placed the soldiers in the fortified Acra to keep down the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and proclaimed the dismissal of Jason according to the king's order. The latter was either banished or he escaped from Jerusalem, whence he crossed over the Jordan into the land of the Ammonites. This district was governed by a Nabatæan prince, named Aretas, by whom he was cordially received. This change only increased the disorders in Jerusalem; the greater part of the people were indignant that Menelaus, who was a Benjamite, and not of the family of the high-priests, and who besides was known to be opposed to the patriarchal customs, had been invested with that holy dignity. Even the admirers of Greek customs and the lovers of innovations condemned the selection of Menelaus.

      Both the followers of Jason and those who did not wish to break entirely with Judaism disapproved of his dismissal. But the malcontents were compelled to be silent, because they feared the presence of the Syrian officer and the Cyprian troops which he commanded; but great excitement prevailed in the minds of the people, and threatened to break forth at the earliest opportunity. Menelaus brought matters to a climax. He had promised the king more than he could give in payment for the dignity he had received. Antiochus was indignant, and summoned him to come and justify himself. Compelled to go to Antioch, he left the capital in charge of his brother Lysimachus, who was as unconscientious as himself, and took holy gifts out of the Temple, intending to sell them in order to make up the required sum. Not finding the king at home, he bribed his lieutenant Andronicus with part of the costly vessels. The worthy high-priest, Onias III., who still resided at Antioch, heard of this crime; he also learnt that Menelaus had sold utensils from the Temple in Tyre and other Phœnician towns. Indignant at such behaviour, he accused Menelaus of robbing the Temple, a crime which was considered heinous even amongst the Greeks. This accusation hastened the death of the deposed high-priest. For Menelaus conspired with Andronicus to remove Onias before the king was informed of the theft committed in the Temple, and of the use made of the plunder. Andronicus, being himself implicated, was anxious to make Onias harmless. He enticed him from the temple of Apollo at Daphne, near Antioch, where he had taken refuge, and slew him (171). СКАЧАТЬ