Bible & Christianity › Exile & the Second Temple › Maccabean revolt and Hanukkah
Alexander the Great brings Greek rule
332 BC· Event· Church, doctrine & the world
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
Alexander of Macedon conquered the Persian Empire, taking Judea in 332 BC and spreading Greek language and culture across the Near East.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Alexander invaded Persia in 334 BC. In 332 BC he besieged Tyre and Gaza, and Judea passed to him, apparently without a fight. He died in Babylon in 323 BC, aged 32, and his generals carved up the empire. Judea was ruled first by the Ptolemies of Egypt, then from 200 BC by the Seleucids of Syria. Greek became the common language of trade and government, a culture called Hellenism. 1 Maccabees 1 opens with him.
Why it matters
Greek culture pulled Judaism into a wider world. It produced the Septuagint, provoked the Maccabean revolt, and gave the New Testament its language.
Sources and history
Greek historians Arrian and Plutarch record his campaigns, and coins and city foundations trace his route. Josephus' story of Alexander bowing to the high priest in Jerusalem (Antiquities 11) is widely seen as legend.
Questions and debates
Historians debate how deeply Greek culture changed Judaism: a thin layer on the elite, or a transformation of Jewish thought, from Alexandria to Jerusalem.
Connections (2)
▸Alexander the Great brings Greek rule spread the Greek language behind Septuagint: the Greek Old TestamentMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Alexander's conquests made Greek the shared language from Egypt to India. He founded Alexandria in 331 BC, and it grew to hold one of the largest Jewish communities outside Judea. Its Greek-speaking Jews needed scripture they could read, producing the Septuagint in the common 'Koine' Greek that later carried the New Testament.
When and where
Alexandria, founded 331 BC; translation began under Ptolemy II, son of Alexander's general Ptolemy, about 50 years after Alexander's death.
How do we know?
Well documented: Greek inscriptions, papyri and the writings of Philo of Alexandria show a large Greek-speaking Jewish population there.
Questions and debates
Whether the translation was mainly a Jewish community project or commissioned by the king for his library, as the Letter of Aristeas claims, is debated.
▸Alexander the Great brings Greek rule began the Greek rule resisted in Maccabean revolt and HanukkahHistorical record
The connection
After Alexander's death, dynasties founded by his generals ruled Judea: the Ptolemies, then the Seleucids. Greek culture attracted some Jewish elites, who built a gymnasium in Jerusalem (1 Maccabees 1:14). When the Seleucid king Antiochus IV banned Jewish law in 167 BC, the clash between Greek ways and the Torah exploded into revolt.
When and where
Judea, from 332 to 167 BC; under Seleucid rule from 200 BC.
Historical evidence
1 Maccabees 1 begins with Alexander and traces the line to Antiochus IV; Greek historians such as Polybius confirm the Seleucid kings.
Questions and debates
Whether the conflict was mainly Jews against Greeks, or a civil war among Jews over how much Greek culture to accept, is debated.