The woman with seven sons was a Jewish martyr described in 2 Maccabees 7 and other sources, who had seven sons that were arrested (along with her) by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who forced them to prove their respect to him by consuming pig meat. When they refused, he tortured and killed the sons one by one in front of the unflinching and stout-hearted mother. The story likely occurred around the beginning of the religious persecutions in 167-166 B.C.E. Although unnamed in 2 Maccabees, the mother is known variously as Hannah, Miriam, and Solomonia.