For one thing, the war did not end in 165. It was not until 142 BCE that the Greeks were finally driven out. The rule of the Hasmoneans eventually went into decline, giving way to internal rivalry and internecine strife, of which the Romans took full advantage. To be sure, it took two hundred years before the Hasmonean dynasty was to be completely destroyed, but destroyed it was, along with Jerusalem and the Temple. The miracle of the oil, by contrast, has never been extinguished.
Nothing can ever efface the purity of the event, of one day's supply of oil burning for eight days.
But in the symbolism of the oil is also contained the idea of a single remnant saving all of Israel. The Temple, with its altars and vessels and all of its oil had been defiled by the pagan occupier. After they had been driven out, only one small vessel of oil could be discovered that still bore the unbroken seal of purity of the High Priest. All of the sacred thoughts, of the inner spiritual life of Israel had been defiled by the alien culture. Only one small, precious chamber of purity remained.