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taking the ram from his hand." For first, having engaged his generals in the regions of Asia, he took away all their dominion. Then, when Darius met him in Cilicia with a great army, another battle took place, and Darius was turned to flight, and Alexander, having destroyed many of his army, took the daughters of Darius captive. Then again, after the return from Egypt, having drawn up for battle near Babylon, he both killed Darius himself and destroyed the Persian kingdom. He says that both his horns were shattered, since both Medes and Persians were named as one, when Cyrus the first reigned, who was a Mede on his mother's side, but a Persian on his father's side; and since their first king had both of these appellations, of necessity those who were ruled also called the same people both Medes and Persians. For both kingdoms came together into one dominion. And the pagan writers also call the same people both Persians and Medes. Thus, he says, when the ram's horns were shattered, 8. "The he-goat of the goats was exceedingly magnified." For when the Persian, or rather Median, kingdom was destroyed, Alexander 81.1444 took up power over all; but he also, having survived for a short time, received the end of his life. And the blessed Daniel also saw this. Wherefore he says: "And when he had become strong, the great horn was broken." After that greatest victory, he says, Alexander received the common end of men. "And there came up," he says, "four horns from under it toward the four winds of heaven." And the four horns allude to the four kings who succeeded Alexander at the same time. For Ptolemy son of Lagus took over the rule of Egypt; Seleucus Nicanor held Babylon and the other parts extending as far as Syria; Antigonus ruled Asia, and Antipater ruled Macedonia; or as it seems to some writers, Philip, also called Arrhidaeus, who was also the brother of Alexander. It must be noted that he also saw the third beast having four heads, and the goat, after the shattering of its one horn, growing four horns; so that it is clear that the same things are signified both by the goat and by the third beast. 9. "And out of one," he says, "of the horns came forth one strong horn." He means Antiochus Epiphanes, who was the son of Antiochus who was called the Great. "And it was magnified," he says, "exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward Libya, and toward the power." Having become powerful, he says, he overcame the king of Egypt, and he subjected the nations lying to the east; and he campaigned, he says, against the Jews, and destroyed the holy mother-city; for he called it 'the power' on account of the divine grace then flourishing in the temple. And making this clearer, he added: 10. "And it was magnified even to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars fell to the ground, and it trampled them." These things the first and second book of the Maccabees teach us more clearly, and Josephus the historian also wrote these things accurately, and we too will briefly narrate the things concerning him. When those of the high-priestly family rebelled against the then high priest of the Jews, those aspiring to this office came to Antiochus and persuaded him to change the Jewish constitution to a Greek one, and to build a gymnasium in the city. When these things were done, the pious were in mourning, seeing the manifest transgression of the laws, but the rest of the crowd fearlessly trampled the divine law, and outraged the commandment of circumcision. And when the strife became more violent, Antiochus arrived and killed very many of the 81.1445 pious, and he even dared to enter the holy of holies of the temple. And having entered, he plundered the entire temple, seizing the treasures, and the

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ἐξαιρούμενος τὸν κριὸν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ." Πρώτοις μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἐκείνου συμβαλὼν στρατηγοῖς ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν τόποις, πᾶσαν αὐτῶν ἐκείνην ἀφείλατο τὴν ἀρχήν. Εἶτα τοῦ ∆αρείου κατὰ τὴν Κιλικίαν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς στρατείας ἀπαν τήσαντος, ἑτέρα γίνεται συμπλοκὴ, καὶ τρέπεται μὲν ὁ ∆αρεῖος εἰς φυγὴν, πολλοὺς δὲ τῆς στρατείας καταναλώσας ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἔλαβεν αἰχμαλώτους τοῦ ∆αρείου τὰς θυγατέρας. Εἶτα αὖθις μετὰ τὴν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐπάνοδον, περὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα παραταξά μενος, αὐτόν τε τὸν ∆αρεῖον ἀνεῖλε, καὶ τὴν Περ σικὴν κατέλυσε βασιλείαν. Συντριβῆναι δὲ λέγει ἀμφότερα τὰ κέρατα αὐτοῦ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ Μῆδοι καὶ Πέρσαι κατὰ ταὐτὸν ὠνομάζοντο, Κύρου τοῦ πρώτου βασιλεύσαντος, Μήδου μὲν ὄντος μητρόθεν, Πέρσου δὲ πατρόθεν· καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὁ πρῶτος αὐτῶν βασιλεὺς ἄμφω ταύτας εἶχε τὰς προσηγορίας, ἀναγκαίως καὶ οἱ ἀρχόμενοι, καὶ Μήδους καὶ Πέρσας τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὠνόμαζον. Εἰς γὰρ μίαν ἀρχὴν ἄμφω συνῆλθον αἱ βασιλεῖαι. Καὶ οἱ ἔξω δὲ συγγραφεῖς τοὺς αὐτοὺς καὶ Πέρσας καὶ Μήδους ὀνομάζουσιν. Οὕτω δὲ, φησὶ, τῶν τοῦ κριοῦ συντριβέντων κεράτων, ηʹ. "Ὁ τράγος τῶν αἰγῶν ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως σφόδρα." Τῆς γὰρ Περσικῆς, εἴτ' οὖν Μηδικῆς, καταλυθείσης βασιλείας, τὸ κατὰ πάντων ὁ Ἀλέ 81.1444 ξανδρος ἀνεδέξατο κράτος· ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος ὀλίγον ἐπιβιώσας χρόνον, τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος ἐδέξατο. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ εἶδεν ὁ μακάριος ∆ανιήλ. ∆ιό φησι· "Καὶ ἐν τῷ ἰσχῦσαι αὐτὸν συνετρίβη τὸ κέρας τὸ μέγα." Μετὰ τὴν νίκην ἐκείνην τὴν μεγίστην, φησὶ, τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐδέξατο τέλος. "Καὶ ἀνέβη, φησὶ, τέσσαρα κέρατα ὑποκάτωθεν αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τοῦ οὐρανοῦ." Τέσσαρα δὲ κέρατα, τοὺς τέσσαρας βασιλέας, τοὺς κατὰ ταὐτὸν τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον διαδεξαμένους αἰνίτ τεται. Πτολεμαῖος γὰρ ὁ Λάγου τῆς Αἰγύπτου τὴν ἡγεμονίαν παρέλαβε· Σέλευκος δὲ ὁ Νικάνωρ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα κατεῖχε, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μέρη τὰ μέχρι Συρίας διήκοντα· Ἀντίγονος δὲ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐκράτει,τῆς δὲ Μακεδονίας Ἀντίπατρος· ὡς δέ τισι τῶν συγγραφέων δοκεῖ, Φίλιππος, ὃς καὶ Ἀριδαῖος, ὁ καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἀδελφός. Ἐπισημήνασθαι δὲ δεῖ, ὅτι καὶ τὸ τρίτον θηρίον τέσσαρας κεφαλὰς ἔχον ἐθεάσατο, καὶ τὸν τράγον μετὰ τὴν τοῦ ἑνὸς κέρα τος συντριβὴν τέσσαρα φύσαντα κέρατα· ὡς εἶναι δῆλον τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ διὰ τοῦ τράγου, καὶ διὰ τοῦ τρίτου θηρίου σημαίνεσθαι. θʹ. "Καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς, φησὶ, τῶν κεράτων ἐξ ῆλθε κέρας ἓν ἰσχυρόν." Ἀντίοχον λέγει τὸν Ἐπιφανῆ, ὃς Ἀντιόχου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Μεγάλου υἱὸς ἐγεγόνει. "Καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθη, φησὶ, περισσῶς πρὸς νότον, καὶ πρὸς ἀνατολὴν, καὶ πρὸς Λίβα, καὶ πρὸς τὴν δύναμιν." ∆υνατὸς, φησὶ, γενόμενος περιεγένετο μὲν τοῦ τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλέως, ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν δὲ καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἕω κείμενα ἐποιήσατο ἔθνη· ἐπεστράτευσε δὲ, φησὶ, καὶ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν μητρόπολιν κατεστρέψατο· δύναμιν γὰρ αὐτὴν προσηγόρευσε, διὰ τὴν ἐπανθοῦσαν τῷ ναῷ τηνικαῦτα χάριν θείαν. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφέστερον ποιῶν ἐπήγαγε· ιʹ. "Καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ οὐ ρανοῦ, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀστέρων, καὶ συνεπάτησεν αὐτούς." Ταῦτα σαφέστερον ἡμᾶς ἡ τῶν Μακκαβαίων βίβλος ἥ τε πρώτη καὶ ἡ δευτέρα διδάσκει, καὶ Ἰώσηππος δὲ ὁ ἱστοριογράφος ἀκριβῶς ταῦτα συνέγραψε, καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ συντόμως τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν διηγησόμεθα. Τῶν ἐκ γένους ἀρχιερατικοῦ πρὸς τὸν τηνικαῦτα ἀρχιε ρέα τῶν Ἰουδαίων στασιασάντων, οἱ ταύτης τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐφιέμενοι, πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίοχον παραγενόμενοι, πείθουσιν αὐτὸν τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν πολιτείαν εἰς Ἑλληνικὴν μεταβάλλειν, καὶ γυμνάσιον ἐν τῇ πόλει οἰκοδομῆσαι. Τούτων γενομένων, οἱ μὲν εὐσεβεῖς ἐν θρήνοις ἦσαν, τὴν προφανῆ τῶν νόμων ὁρῶντες παράβασιν, ὁ δὲ λοιπὸς ὅμιλος ἀδεῶς τὸν θεῖον ἐπάτει νόμον, καὶ εἰς τὴν τῆς περιτομῆς ἐξύβριζον ἐντολήν. Σφοδροτέρας δὲ γενομένης τῆς στάσεως, ἀφικόμενος ὁ Ἀντίοχος πλείστους μὲν ἀνεῖλε τῶν 81.1445 εὐσεβῶν, τετόλμηκε δὲ καὶ τῶν τοῦ ναοῦ ἀδύ των ἐπιβῆναι. Καὶ ἐπιβὰς πάντα ἐσύλησε τὸν νεὼν, τούς τε θησαυροὺς σφετερισάμενος, καὶ τὰ