Did Antiochus destroy the Temple?
Did Antiochus destroy the Temple?
During the Persian and Hellenistic (4th–3rd century bce) periods, the Temple generally was respected, and in part subsidized, by Judaea’s foreign rulers. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, however, plundered it in 169 bce and desecrated it in 167 bce by commanding that sacrifices be made to Zeus on an altar built for him.