Mattathias of Modein (original) (raw)

Author of the Judean revolt against the Greco-Syrian empire (166 BCE) & patriarch of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judean rulers. By birth Mattathias was a lesser priest of the line of Jehoiarib & the family of Hasmon. A fervent religious conservative, he moved his family to Modein, a village northwest of Jerusalem, to escape Hellenization of the temple cult. After Antiochus IV pillaged the temple & replaced Judean religious tradition with Greek worship & culture (167 CE), Mattathias led Judeans to rebel against Syrian domination. He died within a year but his revolt was continued by his sons, three of whom -- Judah Maccabee, Jonathan & Simon -- became de facto rulers of Judea. His descendents (through the offspring of Aristobulus IV) remained prominent in the politics of the Near East until almost 100 CE. He himself was celebrated in later rabbinic Judaism as a champion of religious freedom.

References: Josephus,Antiquities 12.265-285, 305, 433.
_____, War 1.36.
1 Maccabees 2:1-70

Other resources on line:

• Antiquities of the Jews Book 12 - from 1895 edition of William Whiston's English translation. Josephus' account of Mattathias is in chapters 6 (posted by Early Jewish Writings).
• Mattathias Maccabeus - article by R. Gottheil & S. Krauss in the Jewish Encyclopedia.
• Mattathias - entry in Wikipedia's web.

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