Athenobius

Atheno'bius (Α᾿θηνόβιος), a "friend" of the Syrian king Antiochus (VII) Sidetes, sent by him as a special ambassador to Simon, the Jewish high-priest. to demand possession of the chief fortresses of Palestine; which being refused, the envoy, although greatly impressed with what he saw of the splendor of Jerusalem, yet returned enraged to his inaster (1 Maccabees 15:28-36). Josephus, however, gives a somewhat different account of the negotiation (Ant. 13, 7, 2; War, 1, 2, 2), and does not name Athenobius. SEE ANTIOCHUS.

⇒See also the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.