Deposition of high priest Onias III, sold by Jason then by Menelaus; assassination of Onias at Daphne and repression of protesters

The high priest Onias III was deposed in favor of his brother Jason, who had purchased the office from the Seleucid king, then supplanted by Menelaus, who offered more. The priestly dignity, until then hereditary and held for life, became an object of sale: this is the tipping point that would lead, a few years later, to the revolt of the Maccabees.

Onias, having taken refuge in the sanctuary of Daphne near Antioch, was assassinated there in violation of the right of asylum. In Jerusalem, those who protested against the plundering of the Temple vessels by Menelaus were put to death, and an embassy that came to plead their cause before the king was likewise executed.