Miracle of the cruse of oil

He allowed the Jews living in Judea autonomous rule for some time, but then his son Antiochus IV replaced him.

Trying to unify his kingdom, Antiochus IV prohibited Jews from practicing Judaism and commanded them to worship Greek gods.

Tensions rose and in 168 BCE Antiochus IV invaded Jerusalem, killing thousands, and erected an altar to Zeus in the temple.

[2] Along with a statue of Zeus, the sacrifice of pigs (a normal practice in ancient Greek worship) began to take place in the temple.

This resulted in civil war between ruling Hellenized factions that had been installed by Antiocus IV, and traditionalists.

However, only a single cruse of untainted (as evidenced by bearing an unbroken seal) olive oil was found throughout all of Jerusalem--enough to last only one night.

[4] After defeating the Syrian-Greeks in the battlefield, the first of the two miracles celebrated on Hanukkah, the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem and to the Temple.

[1] While lighting the Menorah on Hanukkah was originally established solely to commemorate the miracle of the cruse of oil, after the destruction of the Second Temple, the holiday took on an additional role.