Mattathias | |
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![]() An imaginary depiction of Mattathias from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum (1553) | |
Leader of the Maccabees | |
Successor | Judas Maccabeus |
Died | 166–165 BCE |
Burial | |
Issue | Judas Maccabeus Eleazar Avaran Simon Thassi John Gaddi Jonathan Apphus |
Dynasty | Hasmonean |
Religion | Judaism |
Mattathias ben Johanan (Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן יוֹחָנָן, Mattīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān; died 166–165 BCE)[1] was a Kohen (Jewish priest) who helped spark the Maccabean Revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. Mattathias's story is related in the deuterocanonical book of 1 Maccabees and in the writings of Josephus. Mattathias is accorded a central role in the story of Hanukkah and, as a result, is named in the Al HaNissim prayer Jews add to the Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) and the Amidah during the festival's eight days.