334 ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE 



Parthians revolted and established a powerful kingdom 

 between the Caspian and the Persian Gulf. Under the 

 Ptolemies and Seleucidse, Greek influence gained much 

 ground even amongst the Jews, while, as before said,* it 

 then extended far and wide around the Mediterranean. 

 Judaea passed under the sway of the Seleucidse during the 

 reign of Antiochus the Great 198 B.C. He visited 

 Jerusalem, confirmed its privileges, and by his benignity 

 still further promoted the influence of Hellenic culture 

 over the Jews. But the increase of that influence greatly 

 augmented the national and religious passions of such 

 of the Jews as did not yield to it, so that a strong 

 antagonism was produced between these two sections of 

 that nation. 



In the reign of his second son, Antiochus Epiphanes, a 

 great change took place. He determined to force the 

 Jews to renounce Jehovah and worship the Roman god 

 Jupiter. Intrigues to obtain the post of high priest 

 and consequent disorders, for a time favoured his attempt, 

 and, after great slaughter, the Jewish worship was 

 abolished and sacrifices to Jupiter were offered before 

 his image in the temple of Jerusalem. This gave rise 

 to the well-known rising of the Maccabees, which, after 

 an alliance with Home, succeeded. Ultimately the 

 Maccabee Jonathan became king of the Jews, and 

 founded a dynasty that of the Asmonceans which 

 lasted for about a century till the last of the dynasty 

 was killed by Herod the Great, who, with the support of 

 the Romans, became king of Judaea 38 B.C., which at his 

 death became a district of the Roman province of Syria. 

 A succession of exceptionally rapacious Roman governors 

 led to the terrible revolt which ended in the total 



* gee ante, p. 320. 



