g drink[1]), and to many other gods of man's invention.

Never again would God's chosen people willingly worship false gods;
their troubles had cured them once for all of that sin.

But although they knew the Greek religion to be untrue, they began
greatly to admire the Greeks themselves, and to take their opinion
about many things.

'Who can build like these Greeks?' they will have said. 'Who can carve
such beautiful statues, or paint such beautiful pictures? Every one
knows that their poetry is the finest in the world, and that their
books are the wisest and pleasantest to read; and then, how well they
train their young people! The lads of Greece are the strongest
wrestlers and the swiftest runners in the world!'

All this was quite true; but the Jews forgot that mere cleverness does
not make a man or woman good, and that the fear of God is the beginning
of all true wisdom. Many people forget this even to-day.

So the Jews began to give their children Greek names, and to send them
to Greek schools, and, what was worse, they put Greek books into their
hands instead of the Bible.

Slowly but surely this unholy 'leaven' entered the people's life, and
influenced their thoughts. But, in spite of all, many Jewish men and
women remained faithful to God; they kept His laws, and read in His
Book daily, looking always for the coming Saviour, the Messiah, who
would rule and redeem His people.

As the years passed the fashion for Greek ideas and ways grew stronger
in Jerusalem, until at last even the High Priest himself[2] began to
encourage the people to neglect the services and sacrifices of the
Temple, that they might go to heathen sports and games.

The Greeks were very fond of foot-races and wrestling-matches, and they
held large athletic meetings two or three times a year; but no one who
believed in God should have gone near those meetings, for the Grecian
games were always held in honour of some heathen god or goddess.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--COIN OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, WITH PORTRAIT OF
HIMSELF AND FIGURE OF JUPITER, THE FALSE GOD HE WORSHIPPED.

FIG. 2.--COIN OF ANTIOCHUS, THE WICKED KING. PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF, AND
FIGURE OF VENUS, ONE OF THE FALSE GODS HE TRIED TO FORCE THE JEWS TO
BELIEVE IN]

When Alexander died he left his vast empire to be divided among his
generals, just as Napoleon did centuries later with his conquests. The
descendant of one of these generals was named Antiochus, and he began