Gorgias (general)

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Gorgias was a Syrian-Seleucid general in the 2nd century BC who served under Antiochus Epiphanes. After Judas Maccabeus defeated the Seleucid army at Beth Horon, Lysias sent a large force to Judea, including Gorgias with 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Their march began from Emmaus, and they planned to surprise Judas at night with guides who were not loyal to the Jews.

Judas learned of the expedition and attacked the main Syrian army at Emmaus, routing it. Gorgias chased the retreating enemy, but when he returned to his camp he found the camp on fire and the Jews prepared for battle. The Syrians panicked and fled into Philistine territory, and the Jews then seized the riches the Syrians had brought. The victory was remarkable because Judas led a smaller force and lacked heavy armor or swords.

Gorgias did not dare to enter Judea again. Later, when Judas and Simon were fighting elsewhere, two subordinate generals, Joseph and Azariah, attacked Jamnia without orders and were defeated by Gorgias. Some accounts call him governor of Idumaea (or of Jamnia) and say he marched with about 3,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, killing several Jews. One incident tells how Dositheus of Tobiene attacked Gorgias and seized his mantle, but a Thracian horseman cut off Dositheus’s arm and saved Gorgias. Gorgias then retired to Marissa and disappears from the main narrative.

Later writers linked Gorgias to other figures, and in 2 Maccabees he is described as a hated enemy of the Jews, even called “the accursed man.” He was a controversial and contested figure in the Jewish records, with the details of his actions ending up mixed and debated.