struggle depicted in the Book of Daniel. This book concerns the struggle of one body of Jews to maintain their religious integrity against foreign influence and persecution. Set in the fourth and third centuries B.C., the book is of a time when a process of Hellenization had begun to transform parts of the Near East. The Jews of the Diaspora were profoundly affected by this process, and even the Jews of Palestine were influenced by it. Many Jews began to read Greek literature and philosophy, wear Greek clothes, interest themselves in democratic forms of government, and generally showed a predilection toward the culture of the Greek world. There were some Jews who resented this process and who tried to resist it, among them the Hasidim ("the pious") who struggled to retain their traditions and who preached loyalty to the Torah (the Law) above all. The Book of Daniel was probably written by the Hasidim. The struggle between this group and the Hellen
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