The Maccabees were Judahite rebels who fought against the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty. The Maccabees established Judahite independence in the Land of Israel from 165 to 63 BC. Their defeat of a much larger power was a remarkable feat. The Maccabees were NOT Jews.
The Maccabees were forced to eat swine’s flesh or be tortured and killed.