In 167 B.C., Antiochus committed an “abomination of desolation” specifically, he set up an altar to the Greek god Zeus inside the Jewish temple and sacrificed a pig on it. One of the Selucid kings was Antiochus IV, who called himself “Antiochus Epiphanes” (“Epiphanes” means “god manifest”). The Selucid Empire ended up with control over Israel and Jerusalem. Alexander the Great’s generals “put crowns upon themselves so did their sons after them many years: and evils were multiplied in the earth” (1 Maccabees 1:9). The Divided Greek Empire and the Hasmonean Periodįor the history of the divided Greek Empire and how it impacted Jewish history, we turn to the Apocrypha. His kingdom was then divided among his four generals, Ptolemy, Seleucas, Lysimachus, and Cassander. The prophecy, which Daniel recorded 200 years in advance, came true in every detail: Alexander died in Babylon in 323 B.C. The breaking of the horn signifies the untimely death of the king, and the four smaller horns represent a divided kingdom. The angel Gabriel explains the vision: the goat signifies Greece, and the prominent horn is “the first king” (Alexander).
After the goat kills the ram, its horn is broken “at the height of his power,” and four other horns grow up in its place (Daniel 8:1-8). The prophet has a vision of a ram with two horns (signifying Medo-Persia) attacked by a swiftly moving goat with a single large horn.
who will rule with great power and do as he pleases” (Daniel 11:2-3).ĭaniel 8 is even more specific. Alexander, though not named, is called “a mighty king. Daniel 11 refers specifically to the kingdom of Greece. Daniel 2 tells of the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar II’s dream, which foretold the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires. The Greek kingdom was prophesied by Daniel in chapters 2, 8, and 11 of his book. In only 13 years, Alexander defeated Syria and Egypt, brought down the Medo-Persian Empire, and went as far east as India. Immortalized as Alexander the Great, he was second to none in the speed with which he conquered new lands. In 336 B.C., a time when Greece consisted of city-states and their surrounding provinces, Alexander succeeded his father, Phillip, as king of Macedonia. Another source of information concerning Greek influence on the history of the Jews is the Apocrypha, specifically 1 and 2 Maccabees. While none of the history of the Greek Empire is recorded in the Bible, we do have relevant prophecy. Jewish history is indelibly marked by Alexander the Great’s short rule over the Greek Empire.
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