1
1 HISTORY
ANTIOCHUS IV: FROM DIVINE
TO MADMAN
In the time between the two testaments of
the Bible, the Land of Israel was slotted between
the Seleucids and Ptolemies, the former of
which finally took control 198 BC. In the not
so quiet year of 175 BC, Antiochus IV, son of
Antiochus the Great (222–187 BC), ascended
the throne of the then known “civilized” world,
after the assassination of his brother Seleucus; a
throne which rightly belonged to Demetrius, his
nephew. Antiochus was an eccentric leader, to say the least. He took
the name Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Antíochos D’ ho Epiphanếs) literally
“god manifest.” But despite his divine self-appointment, he was also
a self-proclaimed man of the people, often taking baths in the public
bathhouse among the so-called unwashed masses. His eccentricities
earned him the name Antiochus “Epimanes” (“The Mad One”), a word
play on his divine title “Epiphanes.” His narcissistic behavior earned
him another nickname in Jewish sources – “the wicked one.” He could
captivate the common people with his appearance of geniality, but in
reality proved to be a forbidding despot with contempt for those who
would not submit to his will.1
His interactions with the Jewish people were not as friendly as his
father’s. He quickly decided to outlaw the Sabbath and circumcision,
and defile the Temple.2 Jewish resistance to his Hellenization attempts
only spurred him on. When false reports reached the Jews that
1 See http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1589-antiochus-iv-epiphanes
2 This was done by erecting an altar to the god Zeus, allowing the sacrifice of pigs, and opening the shrine
to non-Jews. See: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Maccabees.html