Maccabean Revolt
Mattathias ben Johanan (, "Matīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān") (died 165 BCE) was a Kohen (Jewish priest) whose role in the religion-driven Maccabean Revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire is related in the "Books of the Maccabees". 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.