Editing Samaritans (section)

==== Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Hellenization ====
[[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] was on the throne of the Seleucid Empire from 175 to 163&nbsp;BCE. His policy was to [[Hellenization|Hellenize]] his entire kingdom and standardize religious observance. According to 1 Maccabees 1:41-50 he proclaimed himself the incarnation of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] god [[Zeus]] and mandated death to anyone who refused to worship him. In the 2nd century BCE, a series of events led to a revolution by a faction of Judeans against Antiochus IV.

Anderson notes that during the reign of Antiochus IV:{{sfn|Jackson|n.d.}}{{Better source needed|date=January 2023}}{{blockquote|sign=|source=Bromiley, 4.304|the Samaritan temple was renamed either Zeus Hellenios (willingly by the Samaritans according to Josephus) or, more likely, Zeus Xenios, (unwillingly in accord with 2 Macc. 6:2).}}

Josephus quotes the Samaritans as saying:

{{blockquote|sign=|source=Josephus 12:5|We therefore beseech thee, our benefactor and saviour, to give order to Apollonius, the governor of this part of the country, and to Nicanor, the procurator of thy affairs, to give us no disturbances, nor to lay to our charge what the Jews are accused for, since we are aliens from their nation and from their customs, but let our temple which at present hath no name at all, be named the Temple of Jupiter Hellenius.}}

In the letter, defended as genuine by [[Elias Joseph Bickerman|E. Bickerman]] and [[Menahem Stern|M. Stern]], the Samaritans assert their distinction from the Judeans based on both race (γένος) and in customs (ἔθος).<ref>{{Citation |title=Theoretical Considerations: Nationalism and Ethnicity in Antiquity |date=2006 |work=Elements of Ancient Jewish Nationalism |pages=19, 22 |editor-last=Goodblatt |editor-first=David |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/elements-of-ancient-jewish-nationalism/theoretical-considerations-nationalism-and-ethnicity-in-antiquity/CB4441D91310FB3557F79891F6AE8564 |access-date=2024-06-14 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511499067.002 |isbn=978-0-521-86202-8}}</ref>

According to II Maccabees:{{blockquote|sign=|source=II Maccabees 6:1–2|Shortly afterwards, the Greek king sent Gerontes the Athenian to force the Jews of Israel to violate their ancestral customs and live no longer by the laws of God; and to profane the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and the one on Mount Gerizim to Zeus, Patron of Strangers, as the inhabitants of the latter place had requested.}}