Slow mail

The ancient coin that we ordered in the begninning of Dec, and which was shipped Dec. 9 showed up yesterday, Jan 22. Not sure what the story is there, though the envelope had been cut, so maybe the customs people were checking into it.

It is from the reign of Antiochus IV "Epiphanes" (God manifested), who was mostly responsible for the events surrounding Chanukah. He invaded Egypt but had to withdraw because of pressure from Rome. Probably in a bad mood after that, he despoiled the Temple in Jerusalem, put a statue of Zeus there, apparently forced Jews to worship Greek Gods, and prohibited circumcision. This went over poorly in Israel/Judaea. The Jews revolted, Antiochus lost the conflict with Judas Maccabee (Maccabee was a nickname meaning, "the Hammer"). Judas Maccabee then purified the Temple, an event upon which Festival of Chanukah is based. FWIW, Judas Maccabee "hammered" more Jews than Greeks in the revolt, as he took it on himself to slaughter Hellenized Jews as well as Greeks.