noon
Weary indeed and footsore was the Asmonean , but still he bravely pressed forward , till at length he heard the welcome sound of the waves of the Mediterranean lashing the coast near which stood Modin , about an English mile from the town of Joppa . Thankful was Judas to reach his father 's home , where , the heavy strain upon his powers being for awhile relaxed , he slept the deep sweet sleep of the weary , after a journey which could have been accomplished on foot in a single day only by a man possessing great powers of endurance , as well as physical strength . The arrival of Apelles , the emissary of Antiochus Epiphanes , had thrown the town of Modin into a state of great excitement . A proclamation was made in the morning of the following day , that all the inhabitants , men , women , and children , should assemble in the market-place at noon , to obey the mandate of the king , by worshipping at an altar of Bacchus , which was erected at that spot . `` Curses , not loud but deep , '' were muttered in many a Hebrew home . Some of the Syrian soldiers had been quartered for the night with the inhabitants of Modin . The fatted calf had to be killed , the best wine poured out , for idolatrous guests whose very presence polluted a banquet .