Antiochus is often described as a “Hellenistic zealot” who sought to impose Hellenism on the “faithful” Jewish people. That is the impression one gets from reading 1 Maccabees, but the book is not necessarily “objective history.” There is really no evidence that indicates Antiochus was any more Hellenistic that any other Greek ruler, nor was his method of suppressing the Jewish nationalistic feelings particularly extreme by the standards of the day.Oops, I got this post out of order. See Saturday's post in the link below for more on Antiochus and the Maccabean Revolt.
Past posts in Phil Long's series on the Second Temple Period are noted here and links.