MartyrOld Testament

Seven Holy Maccabee Martyrs

Martyred c. 166 BC

Also known as Abim · Antonius · Gurias · Eleazar · Eusebonus · Alimus · Marcellus

Seven brothers who, with their mother and their teacher, chose torture and death under Antiochus rather than taste forbidden food and forsake the Law of their fathers, the first martyrs for the true God before the coming of Christ.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Seven Maccabee Martyrs, with their Mother Solomonia and their Teacher Eleazar

Life

The Seven Holy Maccabee Martyrs were seven brothers who, together with their mother and their elderly teacher, were put to death for refusing to abandon the Law of Moses during the persecution of the Jews under the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Eastern Orthodox sources name the brothers Abim, Antonius, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusebonus, Alimus, and Marcellus.

Their account is preserved in the deuterocanonical book of 2 Maccabees, chapter 7, and is elaborated in 4 Maccabees. As martyrs who died for fidelity to God before the coming of Christ, they are commemorated by the Orthodox Church together with their mother Solomonia and their teacher Eleazar on August 1.

Troparion & Kontakion2 hymnsReadHide

TroparionTone 7

Let us praise the seven Maccabees,
with their mother Salome and their teacher Eleazar;
they were splendid in lawful contest
as guardians of the teachings of the Law.
Now as Christ’s holy martyrs they ceaselessly intercede for the world.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

KontakionTone 2

Seven pillars of the Wisdom of God
and seven lampstands of the divine Light,
all-wise Maccabees, greatest of the martyrs before the time of the martyrs,
with them ask the God of all to save those who honor you.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributionsReadHide

Historical Context

The martyrdoms took place during the persecution of the Jews carried out by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, dated by Orthodox tradition to the year 166 before Christ. Antiochus issued decrees forbidding Jewish practices, including the keeping of kosher law and circumcision, and sought to compel the abandonment of the Law of Moses.

According to the account, Antiochus desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem, placed within it a statue of the pagan god Zeus, and demanded that the Jews worship it. The brothers were brought to trial and commanded to eat pig's flesh, which was forbidden by the Law, on pain of death.

The Martyrdom

The teacher Eleazar, a ninety-year-old scribe, was brought to trial first for his faithfulness to the Mosaic Law; he endured tortures and died at Jerusalem. He is also described in 2 Maccabees 6.

The seven brothers were brought to trial in Antioch and refused to eat the forbidden food. They endured severe tortures, including mutilation, and were put to death. Their mother Solomonia accompanied her sons and encouraged them to remain faithful; after witnessing the death of all seven, she stood over their bodies, raised her hands in prayer to God, and died.

Legacy

Their steadfastness is recorded as having inspired Judas Maccabeus to lead a revolt that resulted in the purification of the Temple, an event documented in the books of the Maccabees.

The mother is unnamed in 2 Maccabees but is known by several names across traditions: she is called Solomonia in Eastern Orthodox tradition, Hannah in the medieval Josippon, Miriam bat Nahtom in Lamentations Rabbah, and Shmuni in Syriac Christianity. The names of the brothers likewise vary between traditions; alongside the Orthodox list, Syriac tradition records them through the Fenqitho. Their story is also recounted in the Talmud (Tractate Gittin 57b) and in Lamentations Rabbah.

Relics & Shrines

According to Antiochene Christian tradition, the relics of the mother and her sons were interred on the site of a synagogue in the Kerateion quarter of Antioch, which was later converted into a church.

Additional tombs believed to be those of the martyrs were discovered in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome in 1876. The Maccabean martyrs are venerated on August 1 in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic calendars, and remain commemorated in the Traditional Latin Mass.

Member ofReadHide

Synaxis of the Holy Forefathers and Foremothers

Synaxis

Family1 relativeShowHide

Mother of the seven brothers, commemorated with them on August 1.

Martyr SolomoniaMother of the Maccabees

Companions1 figureShowHide

The ninety-year-old scribe martyred for fidelity to the Mosaic Law, commemorated with the brothers.

Martyr EleazarTeacher of the Maccabees

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints