Hanukkah is one of the best known Jewish holidays. Non-Jews often think of it as the "Jewish Christmas", but few know the history and significance of the holiday. In the year 175 BC Antiochus Epiphanes (Antiochus IV) murdered his brother and seized the Seleucid Empire’s throne. A fierce advocate of Greek culture, including its worship of many gods and goddesses, Antiochus viewed the Jewish religion to be barbaric and incompatible with “civilized” Hellenic society. Epiphanes

At its peak, Antioch was the capital of the Seleucid Empire and was the third largest city in the world, having a population of 500,000 souls. Greek culture dominated, including its polytheistic religion worshiping Zeus as “king of the gods.” Tyche, the mistress of fortune and luck, was Antioch’s patron goddess. Antiochean Jews did not live in a separate neighborhood or ghetto, but dwelled alongside their gentile neighbors, mingling with them to a greater degree than in any