Who is Judas Maccabeus?

Elizabeth George Speare's The Bronze Bow follows the story of a Jewish boy named Daniel bar Jamin living in Galilee, Israel in the time of Jesus. After the tragic death of multiple relatives and being sold into slavery, Daniel escapes into the mountains and joins a radical group of anti-Roman rebels.
Judas Maccabeus, also known as Judah Maccabee, was a real-life Jewish priest who died before the time of Jesus, and he is brought up multiple times in The Bronze Bow. Daniel lists him among his heroes, as Judas and his family led the Maccabean revolt against the Syrian ruler who had oppressed and killed Jews and made the practice of the Jewish religion illegal. Daniel thinks of Judas as someone to be admired and emulated, as "Judas, with his heroic father and brothers, had dared to rise up and defy the oppressor, and for a time Israel had breathed the free air again."
The Jewish holiday Hanukkah celebrates Judas and the Maccabees rededicating the Second Temple in Jerusalem by removing Hellenist idols put there by Syrians. They also created a new menorah to replace the golden one that had been stolen, and it is said that God performed a miracle by making oil that should have lasted one day burn for eight nights in the menorah.