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The Greek Period

Up to this time the great powers of the world had been in Asia and Africa. But looming ominously on the western horizon was the rising power of Greece. The beginnings of Greek history are veiled in myth. It is thought to have commenced about the 12th century B.C., the time of the Biblical Judges. Then came the Trojan War, and Homer, about 1,000 B.C., the age of David and Solomon. The beginning of authentic Greek history has usually been reckoned from the First Olympiad, 776 B.C. Then came the Formation of Hellenic States, 776-500 B.C. Then the Persian Wars, 500-3 31 B.C. And the famous battles: Marathon, 490; Thermopalyae and Salamis, 480. Then the brilliant era of Pericles, 465-429, and Socrates, 469-399, contemporaneous with Ezra and Nehemiah.

Alexander the Great, 336 B.C., at the age of 20, assumed command of the Greek army, and, like a meteor, swept eastward over the lands that had been under the dominion of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. By 331 B.C. the whole world lay at his feet. On his invasion of Palestine, 332 B.C., he showed great consideration to the Jews, spared Jerusalem, and offered immunities to the Jews to settle in Alexandria. He established Greek cities all over his conquered domains, and along with them Greek culture and the Greek language. After a brief reign he died, 3 2 3 B.C.

On Alexander's death his empire fell to four of his generals, the two eastern sections going, Syria to Seleucus, and Egypt to Ptolemy. Palestine, lying between Syria and Egypt, went first to Syria, but shortly assed to Egypt (301 B.C.), and remained under control of Egypt until 198 B.C.

Under the kings of Egypt, called the "Ptolemies," the condition of the Jews was mainly peaceful and happy. Those that were in Egypt built synagogues in all their settlements. Alexandria became an influential center of Judaism.

Antiochus the Great re-conquered Palestine (198 B.C.), and it passed back to the kings of Syria, called the "Seleucids."

Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164 B.c.), was violently bitter against the Jews, and he made a furious and determined effort to exterminate them and their religion. He devastated Jerusalem (168 B.C.), defiled the Temple, offered a sow on its altar, erected an altar to Jupiter, prohibited Temple worship, forbade circumcision on pain of death, sold thousands of Jewish families into slavery, destroyed all copies of Scripture that could be found, and slaughtered everyone discovered in possession of such copies, and resorted to every conceivable torture to force Jews to renounce their religion. This led to the Maccabean revolt, one of the most heroic feats in history.

The Ptolemies, Greek Kings of Egypt, were: Ptolemy I (3 2 3-2 85 B.c.). Ptolemy II (285-247) . Ptolemy III (247-222) . Ptolemy IV (222-205) . Ptolemy V (205-182) . Ptolemy VI (182-146) . Ptolemy VII (146-117).