Antiochus IV Epiphanes And Jerusalem

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The EpicureanFriends Files section is where our Level 3 and above participants store longer documents created offsite which are of special interest to the study of Epicurus. You can use the "Categories" box on the right to find specific sections of the library.

A collection of information about what is known of the Epicurean background of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the son of Antiochus III the Great, and he "was given elementary instruction by [the Epicurean] Dionysodorus while still a child in age" ¬ but at one point "Epiphanes had turned away from the choice [sect, i.e. the Epicurean School]" – but ultimately he "was not alienated from the choice [sect, i.e. the Epicurean School]" and that "Philonides made him [i.e., Epiphanes] one who chooses [i.e., an Epicurean] in thinking."

Feel free to add comments here, especially as to revised versions, but comments will be easier to find in the future and result in more engagement if they are placed in the thread here:

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The Intersection Between The Epicurean Movement And Hanukkah

For those who are not aware of the relationship between Epicurean History and Hanukkah, we have a number of materials here on the forum, including a thread on Antiochus Epiphanes , who was the major player on the Greek/Epicurean side of the events leading up to the Maccabean revolt.

Our thread on Antiochus Epiphanes is here.

The page at the former Epicurus.net website which describes this relationship is available by Wayback machine here.

The collection of materials prepared by our forum…
Cassius
December 17, 2025 at 7:32 AM
December 17, 2025 at 2:28 PM

These are great finds! Thank you, in particular for including the texts from Maimonides, which provides important, critical commentary. The Epicurean hagiographies (so to speak) really color-in the lines of ancient history, especially when it comes to critical observations with regards to culture and belief. Given the continued conflicts we observe today, which intersect with some of the propositions made herein, I appreciate that you present the topic with a variety of sources.

In attempting to re-create a general biography of Philódēmos' life, I tried to fill-in the gaps of his early life by cross-referencing his timeline against political conflict in his home. I found that the opinions of Gadarans must have been heavily colored by the fact that the Hasmonean dynasty kept trying to conquer them ... for decades. From my understanding, this activity became so threatening that the Nabateans, a nomadic, ancient Arab group helped repel the dynasty out of the area that corresponds with modern-day Jordan. Anyway, in this case, latter Epicureans (as so against neo-Platonists, and others) were already highly critical of the propositions made in ancient Hebrew texts. The organized violence waged by the Hasmonean dynasty against Greek-speaking towns in ancient Syria (as I imagine) must have reinforced that criticism, perhaps to the extent of reinforcing prejudice. (I mean to make no moral evaluation here. It's sensitive enough as it is).

I am particularly fascinated by the excerpt that describes Epiphanes entering the Holy of Holies. Most other mentions of it occur within sympathetic texts that glorify it as something other than a simple "stone statue of a long-bearded man, seated on a donkey, holding a document in his hand". Shit ... courthouses in Florida had similar statues in them a few years back. We're still depicting statues reflecting that original one in municipal buildings (as of this year).
December 19, 2025 at 8:32 AM

If we managed to change the wording in the mainstream narrative from "Judeo-Christian" civilization to that of a "Judeo-Christian and Epicurean" civilization, that would be just one small step for mankind, but a giant leap for us piglets from Epicurus' herd. :)