Mattathias the Hasmonean
Mattathias the Hasmonean · Heroes of Israel
Priest of Modi'in whose refusal to sacrifice to pagan gods in 167 BCE ignited the Maccabean revolt.
166 BCE, Judea
Modi'in, Judea
Mattathias the Hasmonean is recognized among Israeli contributors to Heroes of Israel — Priest of Modi'in whose refusal to sacrifice to pagan gods in 167 BCE ignited the Maccabean revolt.
Mattathias was a Jewish priest of the Hasmonean family who lived in the village of Modi'in in Judea. In 167 BCE, when officials of the Seleucid empire under Antiochus IV ordered the population to offer pagan sacrifice and outlawed Jewish practice, he refused and withdrew to the hills with his five sons, beginning an armed revolt. He died around 166 BCE, having handed the leadership to his son Judah. He is attested by the contemporary account in 1 Maccabees and by the later historian Flavius Josephus.
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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattathias
Priest of Modi'in whose refusal to sacrifice to pagan gods in 167 BCE ignited the Maccabean revolt.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattathias
