Mattathias
2nd century BCE Jewish priest of the Hasmonean Dynasty
Matityahu son of Yochanan, also known by the Greek name Mattathias was a Jewish kohen who lived when Antiochus IV took over Judea. When the Greeks tried to assimilate the Jews they ordered him to offer a sacrifice to Zeus but Matityahu refused. Matityahu decided to lead a rebellion against Antiochus to defend Judaism but he died of old age so his sons and their followers, known as the Maccabees fought the war against the Greeks and beat them.
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