The Judean hill country rises in sharp ridges and deep ravines exactly 17 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Here sits the small village of Modein. Dry winds sweep through the scrub brush and terraced slopes. The Seleucid empire demands uniformity across its vast territories. Royal commissioners march into these remote hills to enforce the decrees of King Antiochus IV. They bring orders to erect shrines and force the rural populace to sacrifice swine flesh. The scent of roasting meat mixes with the arid heat as soldiers build a platform in the center of the village.
This enforcement campaign reaches Modein in 167 b.c. King Antiochus commands absolute compliance from every subject. A royal official sets up an offering table and demands the Jewish elders step forward. Mattathias of the Hasmonean family watches a fellow villager approach the structure to comply with the Greek edict. He steps out from the crowd and strikes the man dead on the spot. He then kills the royal official and dismantles the installation piece by piece.
The broken remnants of the altar mark the exact location where a local dispute ignites a massive regional war. Mattathias shouts a final command to his neighbors and runs toward the eastern hills. He leaves his property behind and takes his five sons into the wilderness. Hundreds of families follow them into the network of caves that pit the Judean ridge. They choose to live among the wild beasts rather than submit to the Gentile king. Seleucid garrisons immediately deploy from Jerusalem to hunt down the rebels in these rugged canyons.
Violence in the hills speaks louder than decrees from a distant throne.
This sudden burst of violence traps the king's forces in unfamiliar territory. The Seleucid generals expect a swift surrender from a starved population. Instead they face brutal guerrilla tactics from men who know every hidden path and shallow cave. The rebels wait in the dark recesses of the earth. They sharpen their blades and prepare to turn the steep ravines into a graveyard for the royal army.