The following charts are designed to give you a sense of the flow of events that took place during the period of Chanukah and to place them in the broader context of Jewish history.
If the mention of a clash between the Trojans and the Spartans evokes images of the Rose Bowl, if the word Acropolis reminds you of your favorite Greek restaurant, and if you can't remember if it was Antiochus, Achashverosh or Aristophanes who married Queen Esther - then you will find the following historical overview helpful.
| OVERVIEW OF JEWISH HISTORY | DATE |
| Abraham and Sarah | 1671 BCE |
| Egyptian slavery begins | 1428 BCE |
| Exodus and Torah at Mt. Sinai | 1312 BCE |
| Jewish People enter Israel | 1272 BCE |
| First Temple built | 825 BCE |
| First Temple destroyed; |
| Babylonian exile begins | 422 BCE |
| Purim Events | 355 BCE |
| Second Temple built | 352 BCE |
| Miracle of Chanukah | 165 BCE |
| Second Temple destroyed; |
| Roman exile begins | 70 CE |
| Babylonian Talmud compiled | 500 CE |
| First Crusade | 1096 CE |
| Expulsion of Spanish Jewry | 1492 |
| Rise of Chassidism | 1772 |
| First Zionist Congress | 1897 |
| Holocaust | 1939 |
| Rebirth of Israel | 1948 |
| Reunification of Jerusalem | 1967 |
| OVERVIEW OF CHANUKAH PERIOD | DATE |
| Athens defeats Persia at Marathon | 490 BCE |
| Plato; Greek philosophy | 400 BCE |
| Sparta defeats Athens | 352 BCE |
| Philip of Macedon rules Greece | 338 BCE |
| Alexander the Great rules Greece | 336 BCE |
| Alexander dies; |
| Ptolemies control Egypt and Israel | 323 BCE |
| Selucid Syrian/Greeks conquer Israel | 199 BCE |
| Greek decrees against Judaism; |
| Desecration of Temple | 168 BCE |
| Matitiyahu begins revolt in Modi'in | 167 BCE |
| Matitiyahu dies; Judah Maccabee leads |
| War against Greeks | 166 BCE |
| Temple recaptured; |
| Miracle of oil occurs | 165 BCE |
| Jewish war against the Greek continues | 165-140 BCE |
| Hasmonean dynasty | 140-36 BCE |
| Rome conquers Jerusalem | 63 BCE |
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An invaluable asset
My son recently had a son with a Christian girl. Because of her family's beliefs my son is reluctant to cause any problems by deciding to raise his son Jewish. His girlfriend told me she is willing to learn anything I might offer to help her understand. My quandary: How to make sense of my long winded and wandering "Jewish lessons"? Well to begin, "Chanukah Basics" from Aish.Com. Thank you Aish for being there.