Mattathias

Mattathias ben Johanan (Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ בֶּן יוֹחָנָן הַכֹּהֵן, Matityahu ben Yoḥanan HaKohen) (died 165 BC) was a Jewish priest whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Syrian Greeks 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 Grace after meals and the Amidah during the festival's eight days.