Mattathias

Mattathias ben Johanan (Hebrew: מַתִּתְיָהוּ בֶּן יוֹחָנָן הַכֹּהֵן, Matityahu ben Yoḥanan HaKohen) (died 165 BCE) was a Jewish Kohen ("priest") whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Seleucids 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.