Soon, Jason and other priests began to revoke one of the most visible symbols of the Jewish covenant with God - circumcision. The Greeks loved athletic contests where the athletes participated in the nude. So as to not look out of place, these priests and other Jewish males had cosmetic surgery performed to obliterate this most pronounced symbol of the covenant. Naturally, many other Jewish leaders took offense at this latest turn of events. It was bad enough that Greek culture worshiped more than one god, but the concept of worshiping the human body above all else was bringing Judea to the breaking point. The Maccabees The final profanity occurred when Antiochus IV ordered that the temple in Jerusalem be transformed into a Greek temple. An uprising started in the rural town of Modi'in. A priest named Mattathias refused to pay homage to a statue of Zeus and took out his anger by killing some of the emperor's emissaries. After fleeing to the countryside, he was able to gather many other supporters to start a major war. When confronted with the prospect of having to break the commandment banning warfare on the Sabbath day, Matathias and 1,000 of his allies chose to stay true to the word and paid the ultimate sacrifice. After their martyrdom, Mataithias's son, Judah, and the other rebels realized that the faith could easily be annihilated if they continued to adhere to that principle. After debating the issue, they came to the conclusion that only offensive Sabbath day warfare was banned and that it was perfectly permissible to conduct defensive operations on that particular day. Judah's brilliant military campaigns over a 3-year period of time soon earned him the nickname of Maccabee (hammer) and by 164 BC the Seleucid forces were routed from the country. Hanukkah After the Maccabean victory, attention was turned towards cleansing the temple and building a new altar. Unfortunately for Judah, the Seleucid forces regrouped and defeated him, mortally wounding him in the process. After Judah's death, his brother Jonathan took over. By 152 BC the Seleucid Empire was undergoing internal strife between two rivals to the throne. Jonathan offered his 10,000 strong army to the weaker of the two contenders in exchange for Judean autonomy. His gamble paid off, Judea regained is sovereignty and Jonathan became the head priest of the Jerusalem temple. The victory convinced the Judeans of the Bible's