Maccabees and the Struggle with Paganism Essay Example for Free

Maccabees and the Struggle with Paganism Essay Maccabees were found in the books of the Old Testament. It narrated the Jewish historical struggle in their religious traditions. Around 175 B. C. there was a monarch known as Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus the third of Syria that ruled the Jews. Jewish people were known to be faithful in the Law given by Moses. During their times, Roman empires were expanding and it included Judea in its empire. The Greeks and Romans both practice polytheism and paganism while the Jews were known as monotheistic. These major religious differences brought conflicts among the different civilizations and cultures. Antiochus and the Suppression of Judaism King Antiochus image as a king was that of a tyrannous, greedy and eccentric ruler. He was the foremost oppressor of the Jews. Even if Roman Empires were tolerant of other existing religious sects, the suppression of the Judaism occurred in their times. At first the Jews were free to exercise Judaism even with the presence of pressures in the virtues of Hellenism. But according to the book of First Maccabees there appeared in the land of Israel a group of traitorous Jews who had no regard for the law and they started to break from their customs. They came in terms with the Gentiles and followed their ways. They even asked the king for permission to follow their customs. This led them to built stadium similar to the Greeks. They even performed surgery to hide their circumcision and they also stop observing the Sabbath. Afterwards Antiochus performed other terrible things in the people of Judea and Jerusalem. He murdered the men in Jerusalem and plundered them with their gold, silver and other valuable things. He even destroyed the Jewish temples and force people to worship other gods and forget about their teachings and moral laws. â€Å"The Awful Horror† was committed to the Jewish people by King Antiochus. The Hasmonean or the Maccabees were the heroes that rebelled against paganism and restored Israel’s religious traditions.