Heliodorus (minister)

Heliodorus
Painting of Heliodorus being expelled from the temple
King of the Seleucid Empire (King of Syria)
Reign	175 BC
Predecessor	Seleucus IV Philopator
Successor	Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Born	c. 187 BC
Died	175 BC
Occupation	Legate of Seleucus IV Philopator

Heliodorus (Greek: Ἡλιόδωρος) was a legate of Seleucus IV Philopator c. 187 BC – 175 BC. Some historical sources say that he assassinated Seleucus seized the throne for himself, before Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the brother of the late king, with the help of the Pergamon monarch, Eumenes II, recovered it.

Around 178 BC Seleucus sent Heliodorus to Jerusalem to collect money to pay the Romans. There may be a reference to this in Daniel 11:20, "He will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor". 2 Maccabees 3:21-28 reports that Heliodorus entered the Temple in Jerusalem in order to take its treasure, but was turned back by three spiritual beings who manifested themselves as human beings .

2 Maccabees 3:34-36 records that Heliodorus received "orders from God" to "proclaim to all men the majesty of God's power" .

Since you have been scourged by God, proclaim to all men the majesty of God's power - 2 Maccabees 3:34

It is believed that on his return from Jerusalem, he killed the king and seized the throne for himself; but it was not long before Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the brother of the late king, with the help of the Pergamon monarch, Eumenes II, recovered it.

The Heliodorus stele, a Greek-language inscription of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, is dated to 178 BCE. In this stele, Seleucus informs Heliodorus that he appoints a certain Olympiodoros in charge of the temples of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia. While this part of the inscription comes from the trade of antiquities, an additional fragment from the same inscription was found in 2005 in an underground basement of a Hellenistic house in Maresha.