2nd century BC
The Holy Seven Maccabees, Eleazar and Solomone
Seven brothers, their teacher Eleazar and their mother Solomone, who chose martyrdom rather than break the Law in the second century BC.
Biography
The seven Maccabee brothers, together with their ninety-year-old teacher Eleazar and their mother Solomone, refused to break the Law of Moses by eating forbidden meat when King Antiochus IV of Syria ordered them to do so, around 173 BC. Eleazar was killed first, thrown into the fire, setting an example for his young students.
Antiochus tried to win the seven brothers over with honours and promises, but they chose death rather than betray their law. They were tortured and killed one by one before each other's eyes, and finally their mother Solomone threw herself into the fire as well, sharing the same martyrdom as her children.