The woman with seven sons was a Jewish martyr described in the deuterocanonical 2 Maccabees 7 and elaborated in 4 Maccabees. She and her seven sons were arrested during the persecution of Judaism initiated by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. They were ordered to consume pork and thus violate Jewish law as part of the campaign. They repeatedly refused, and Antiochus tortured and killed the sons one by one in front of the unflinching and stout-hearted mother before eventually killing her as well.