the following chapters. Interpretation Historical background Daniel 8 is an interpretation of the author's own time, 167–164 BCE, with a claim that God will bring to an end the oppression of the Jewish people. It begins with the Greek conquest of the Persian empire, touches on the rise of the four Greek successor-kingdoms, and then focuses on the career of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who took the throne of Seleucid Syria in 175 BCE. Antiochus found himself in conflict with the Jews, and while the details are obscure, it appears that there was a revolt in Jerusalem, he sent troops to suppress it, and as a result the daily Jewish sacrifice was stopped and the Temple polluted. The date for this is usually given as 167 BCE. The attempt to wipe out traditional religion and culture inevitably provoked a reaction, and the rebel Jews, led by Judas Maccabee and his brothers, won sufficient military victories over the Seleucids to take back and purify the temple three years later. The ram, the he-goat, the great horn and the four new horns The symbols of the ram and he-goat, explained in the text of Daniel 8 as representing the kings of Persia and Greece, are apparently drawn from the constellations that preside over Persia and Syria in Hellenistic astrology. Scholars are agreed that the goat's first horn (the horn which is broken) is Alexander the Great, and the four horns which then arise are the four generals who divided his empire. The detail that the goat does not touch the ground as he attacks the ram may reflect the speed of Alexander's conquest. The "little horn" and his war on God The "little horn" which arises from the four horns is Antiochus Epiphanes. It "grows in power to the south and to the east and towards the beautiful land", reflecting Antiochus' campaigns in Egypt (169–168 BCE), Persia (166 BCE) and Israel (the "beautiful land"). "Truth was flung to the ground" by the little horn as it tramples the land: this is probably a reference to the Torah, the Law of Moses. 's "holy ones" most likely means angels, rather than saints, as in the King James Version. Sometimes in the Hebrew Bible it seems to refer to the Israelites. Stars were commonly identified with angels in ancient Israel, and in 8:10 the reader is told that the little horn "grew great ... and