An officer named Sostrates was sent by Antiochus with a troop of Cyprian soldiers to subdue any opposition that might be attempted by the followers of the deposed high priest Jason and to collect at the same time the sum Menelaus had promised.
This act came to the ears of the deposed high priest Onias III, who publicly accused Menelaus of robbing the Temple.
Meanwhile, Jason had not abandoned his claims to the high-priesthood, and while (170) Antiochus was waging war against Egypt he succeeded in making himself master of Jerusalem and in forcing Menelaus to seek refuge in the citadel.
Antiochus regarded this proceeding as an affront upon his majesty, and, having been compelled by the Romans to leave Egypt, he marched against Jerusalem, massacred the inhabitants, and plundered the Temple; in this he is said to have been assisted by Menelaus.
Classicist John Ma suggests that the letters preserved in II Maccabees imply that it was Menelaus who actually negotiated the return of traditional religious and civic rights to the Jewish community, with the Hasmoneans later taking credit.