Who were the Maccabees? More than Hanukkah heroes, the Maccabees were a family of Jewish priests who overthrew Seleucid rule and established an independent Jewish dynasty in the Holy Land during the second and first centuries BCE. According to the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, zeal for the Jewish religion drove this revolt, … Continue reading Meet the Maccabees