Editing Samaritans (section)

=== Hellenistic period ===

==== Foreign rule ====

The [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian Empire]] conquered the [[Levant]] in the 330s BCE, resulting in both Samaria and Judea coming under Greek rule as the province of [[Coele-Syria]]. Samaria was by-and-large devastated by the Macedonian conquest and subsequent colonization efforts, though its southern lands were spared the broader consequences of the invasion and continued to thrive. Matters were further complicated in 331 BCE when the Samaritans rose up in rebellion and murdered the Macedonian-appointed prefect Andromachus, resulting in a brutal reprisal by the army.{{sfn|Knoppers|2013|p=169}} Following the death of [[Alexander the Great]], the area became part of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]], which, in one of [[Syrian Wars|several wars]], was eventually conquered by the neighboring [[Seleucid Empire]].

Though the temple on Mount Gerizim had existed since the 5th century BCE, evidence shows that its sacred precinct experienced an extravagant expansion during the early [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic era]], indicating its status as the preeminent place of Samaritan worship had begun to crystallize. By the time of [[Antiochus III the Great]], the temple "town" had reached 30 [[dunam]]s in size.{{sfn|Knoppers|2013|p=123}} The presence of a flourishing cult centered around Gerizim is documented by the sudden resurgence of Yahwistic and Hebrew names in contemporary correspondence, suggesting that the Samaritan community had officially been established by the 2nd century BCE.{{sfn|Knoppers|2013|pp=125–133}} Overall, the Samaritans were generally more populous and wealthier than the Judeans in Palestine, until 164 BC.{{sfn|Knoppers|2013|p=2}}

==== Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Hellenization ====
[[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] was on the throne of the Seleucid Empire from 175 to 163&nbsp;BCE. His policy was to [[Hellenization|Hellenize]] his entire kingdom and standardize religious observance. According to 1 Maccabees 1:41-50 he proclaimed himself the incarnation of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] god [[Zeus]] and mandated death to anyone who refused to worship him. In the 2nd century BCE, a series of events led to a revolution by a faction of Judeans against Antiochus IV.

Anderson notes that during the reign of Antiochus IV:{{sfn|Jackson|n.d.}}{{Better source needed|date=January 2023}}{{blockquote|sign=|source=Bromiley, 4.304|the Samaritan temple was renamed either Zeus Hellenios (willingly by the Samaritans according to Josephus) or, more likely, Zeus Xenios, (unwillingly in accord with 2 Macc. 6:2).}}

Josephus quotes the Samaritans as saying:

{{blockquote|sign=|source=Josephus 12:5|We therefore beseech thee, our benefactor and saviour, to give order to Apollonius, the governor of this part of the country, and to Nicanor, the procurator of thy affairs, to give us no disturbances, nor to lay to our charge what the Jews are accused for, since we are aliens from their nation and from their customs, but let our temple which at present hath no name at all, be named the Temple of Jupiter Hellenius.}}

In the letter, defended as genuine by [[Elias Joseph Bickerman|E. Bickerman]] and [[Menahem Stern|M. Stern]], the Samaritans assert their distinction from the Judeans based on both race (γένος) and in customs (ἔθος).<ref>{{Citation |title=Theoretical Considerations: Nationalism and Ethnicity in Antiquity |date=2006 |work=Elements of Ancient Jewish Nationalism |pages=19, 22 |editor-last=Goodblatt |editor-first=David |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/elements-of-ancient-jewish-nationalism/theoretical-considerations-nationalism-and-ethnicity-in-antiquity/CB4441D91310FB3557F79891F6AE8564 |access-date=2024-06-14 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511499067.002 |isbn=978-0-521-86202-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to II Maccabees:{{blockquote|sign=|source=II Maccabees 6:1–2|Shortly afterwards, the Greek king sent Gerontes the Athenian to force the Jews of Israel to violate their ancestral customs and live no longer by the laws of God; and to profane the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and the one on Mount Gerizim to Zeus, Patron of Strangers, as the inhabitants of the latter place had requested.}}

==== Destruction of the temple ====
During the Hellenistic period, Samaria was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based in Samaria ([[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]]) and a pious faction in [[Shechem]] and surrounding rural areas, led by the High Priest. Samaria was a largely autonomous state nominally dependent on the Seleucid Empire until around 110&nbsp;BCE,{{efn|Josephus sets the date for the destruction at 128&nbsp;BCE. Israeli archaeology has established that the destruction levels are compatible only with a later date, around 110&nbsp;BCE {{harv|Kartveit|2009|p=193}}.}} when the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] ruler [[John Hyrcanus]] destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim and devastated Samaria. Only a few stone remnants of the temple exist today.{{sfn|Bourgel|2016|pp=505–523}}

Hyrcanus' campaign of destruction was the watershed moment which confirmed hostile relations between Jews and Samaritans. The actions of the Hasmonean dynasty resulted in widespread Samaritan resentment of, and alienation from, their Judean brethren, resulting in the deterioration of relations between the two that lasted centuries, if not millennia.{{sfn|Knoppers|2013|pp=173–174}}