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It's early December 164 BCE in Judea, a province ruled by the Seleucid Empire.

A Jewish priest walks through the Temple of Jerusalem towards the altar.

He weaves his way around workmen covered in dirt,

who scurry around the building.

Today, the holiest place in the Jewish religion is a hive of noise and activity.

But the priest does not mind the peace being disturbed

because a dreadful act of sacrilege is finally going to be corrected.

As he reaches the center of the temple, the priest stops to watch a group of stone masons,

chipping away at the base of a large statue of Zeus, chief of the Greek gods.

The statue was placed here by officials by the Seleucid Empire,

who spent the last few years trying to quash Judaism

and replace it with the Selucid's own Greek-inspired religion and culture.

The priest says a small prayer of thanks that this statue that's been defiling the temple is finally coming down.

The priest looks on as one of the workers swings back his tool and strikes the statue with a heavy blow,

one that causes it to wobble forward. A ston Mason shouts a warning and waves the priest back as the statue tips

further and further until it topples to the ground. Workers rush forward and begin looping

ropes around the fallen statue to pull it out and away from the holy place.

The priest smiles satisfied with their work.

...