The story of Esther is a tale of palace intrigue, 450 B.C.-style. There are good guys and there’s a bad guy. And a woman in a prominent biblical role risks her own life to save her people.

Esther’s story will be retold in synagogues around the world Monday, March 20, or Adar 14, 5760, in the Hebrew calendar. The Megillah (The Book of Esther) will be read in shuls near and far, and when the villain’s name is spoken, congregants will boo, hiss and shout in an attempt to drown out the word Haman.

Esther, a great beauty, was married to Ahasuerus, king of Persia, who did not know she was a Jew. Haman, the king’s evil prime minister, urged Ahasuerus to kill all the Jews in the land because Mordecai (who was Esther’s uncle) had refused to bow to Haman.

The customs of the time forbade anyone from approaching the king, unless he had requested to see that person. Esther, dressed in her finest royal robes, stood at the entrance to the king’s palace. Seeing her there, Ahasuerus called her to him and offered to grant any wish, even if it meant giving away half of his kingdom. She told him her only wish was for the king and Haman to join her at a feast the next evening.

At that feast, Esther told the king her wish was for him to save her life and the lives of her people, who had been ordered put to death because they were Jews. Ahasuerus became so angry at the thought of losing his beloved queen that he ordered Haman put to death. He made Mordecai, who had foiled a plot to overthrow the king, his new prime minister.

The Orthodox and Conservative synagogues, which are located across the street from each other in Bangor, will celebrate Purim together this year. Members of Beth Abraham and Beth Israel will meet at Beth Abraham, 145 York St., to read the Megillah at 6:30 p.m., then move to the Epstein Room at Beth Israel, 144 York St., for skits and singing.

“We’re doing more and more together,” Beth Israel’s Rabbi Yisrael Rod Brettler said of the joint event. “Purim is a time to be joyful. It is a festive time when we celebrate victory over oppression. It is a great time for families to come together.”

Exactly how Congregation Beth El will mark Purim is always “top secret,” according to Rabbi Laurence Milder. “Our board members always dress up as characters in the story and recite the Megillah in verse.” The evening will begin at 6:30 at the synagogue, 183 French St. Milder predicted “a modern twist” would be added to the ancient story.

Adas Yoshuron Synagogue, 50 Willow St., Rockland, will celebrate Purim a few days early with Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg of St. Paul, Minn. A study of the Megillah will be held Saturday after the 10 a.m. Shabbat Torah services and a kiddush lunch. Then the Purim service and the reading of the Megillah will be held at 5:30 p.m., followed by refreshments and the Hebrew School’s Purim Carnival.