Person

Mattathias

d. c. 166 BCE · 2nd century BCE

Mattathias was a Jewish priest of Modein who, according to the First Book of Maccabees, began the revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV in 167 BCE by killing a Jew who sacrificed to the Greek gods and the king's officer who ordered it. He fled to the hills with his five sons, the Maccabees, and died about a year later, leaving command to Judas.

Mattathias
Image: Georges Reverdy · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Hasmonean Kingdom

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mattathias. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mattathias
MLA
“Mattathias.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mattathias. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Mattathias.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mattathias.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mattathias’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mattathias (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻