E00014: Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Ecclesiastical History, mentions as his source-texts martyrdom accounts of the martyrs of Smyrna, including *Polykarpos/Polycarp (bishop and martyr, S00004), *Metrodoros (Marcionite priest and martyr, S00047), and *Pionios (presbyter and martyr, S00031), and of the martyrs of Pergamon, *Karpos, Papylos and Agathonike (S00051); all in western Asia Minor. He also mentions a collection of martyrdom accounts compiled by himself (now lost). Written in Greek, in Palestine, 311/325.

Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, 4.15

4.15.1-2, 46-48
(1.) ἐν τούτῳ δὲ ὁ Πολύκαρπος μεγίστων τὴν Ἀσίαν ἀναθορυβησάντων διωγμῶν μαρτυρίῳ τελειοῦται, ἀναγκαιότατον δ’ αὐτοῦ τὸ τέλος ἐγγράφως ἔτι φερόμενον ἡγοῦμαι δεῖν μνήμῃ τῆσδε τῆς ἱστορίας καταθέσθαι. (2.) ἔστιν δὲ ἡ γραφὴ ἐκ προσώπου ἧς αὐτὸς ἐκκλησίας ἡγεῖτο, ταῖς κατὰ τόπον παροικίαις τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ἀποσημαίνουσα διὰ τούτων·

(46.) τὰ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τὸν θαυμάσιον καὶ ἀποστολικὸν Πολύκαρπον τοιούτου κατηξίωτο τέλους, τῶν κατὰ τὴν Σμυρναίων ἐκκλησίαν ἀδελφῶν τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐν ᾗ δεδηλώκαμεν αὐτῶν ἐπιστολῇ κατατεθειμένων· ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ δὲ περὶ αὐτοῦ γραφῇ καὶ ἄλλα μαρτύρια συνῆπτο κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν Σμύρναν πεπραγμένα ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτὴν περίοδον τοῦ χρόνου τῆς τοῦ Πολυκάρπου μαρτυρίας, μεθ’ ὧν καὶ Μητρόδωρος τῆς κατὰ Μαρκίωνα πλάνης πρεσβύτερος δὴ εἶναι δοκῶν πυρὶ παραδοθεὶς ἀνῄρηται. (47.) τῶν γε μὴν τότε περιβόητος μάρτυς εἷς τις ἐγνωρίζετο Πιόνιος· οὗ τὰς κατὰ μέρος ὁμολογίας τήν τε τοῦ λόγου παρρησίαν καὶ τὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ἐπὶ τοῦ δήμου καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἀπολογίας διδασκαλικάς τε δημηγορίας καὶ ἔτι τὰς πρὸς τοὺς ὑποπεπτωκότας τῷ κατὰ τὸν διωγμὸν πειρασμῷ δεξιώσεις παραμυθίας τε ἃς ἐπὶ τῆς εἱρκτῆς τοῖς παρ’ αὐτὸν εἰσαφικνουμένοις ἀδελφοῖς παρετίθετο, ἅς τε ἐπὶ τούτοις ὑπέμεινεν βασάνους, καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ ταύταις ἀλγηδόνας καθηλώσεις τε καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς πυρᾶς καρτερίαν τήν τε ἐφ’ ἅπασιν τοῖς παραδόξοις αὐτοῦ τελευτὴν πληρέστατα τῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ γραφῆς περιεχούσης, τοὺς οἷς φίλον, ἐπὶ ταύτην ἀναπέμψομεν τοῖς τῶν ἀρχαίων συναχθεῖσιν ἡμῖν μαρτυρίοις ἐντεταγμένην. (48.) ἑξῆς δὲ καὶ ἄλλων ἐν Περγάμῳ πόλει τῆς Ἀσίας ὑπομνήματα μεμαρτυρηκότων φέρεται, Κάρπου καὶ Παπύλου καὶ γυναικὸς Ἀγαθονίκης, μετὰ πλείστας καὶ διαπρεπεῖς ὁμολογίας ἐπιδόξως τετελειωμένων.


4.15.1-2
'(1.) In that time [under Marcus Aurelius], immense persecutions perturb Asia and Polycarp meets his end in martyrdom. I deem it absolutely necessary to commend to the memory of this history the account of his end, which is indeed preserved in writing. (2.) The writing [γραφή] comes from the church whose head he was, and relates his story to the various local Christian communities in the following terms ...'

After quoting or paraphrasing the Letter of the Smyrnaeans on the Martyrdom of Polycarp:

4.15.46-48
'(46.) So the story of the wonderful and apostolic Polycarp was granted such an end, as the brethren of the church of Smyrna record the account in their letter [ἐπιστολή] which we have presented. In the same writing [γραφή] concerning him, there were also some other martyrdoms attached, which took place in the same city of Smyrna in the same period of time as the martyrdom of Polycarp. Among them Metrodoros – who seems to have been a presbyter of Markion’s falsehood – was killed by fire. (47.) A certain Pionios was reported to be famous among the martyrs of those times. His several confessions, and the boldness of his speech, and his defences [ἀπολογίας] of the faith given before the people and the rulers, and his instructive addresses and, moreover, his acceptance of those who had yielded to temptation in the persecution, and the words of encouragement which he addressed to the brethren who came to visit him in prison, and the tortures which he endured in addition, and besides these the sufferings and nailing, and his perseverance on the pyre, and his death with all its extraordinary aspects, are contained in their fullest in the writing about him, which is included in the Martyrdoms of the Ancients, compiled by us, and we therefore refer those interested to it. (48.) Next there are also accounts about others who were martyred in Pergamon, a city of Asia: Karpos, Papylos and a woman called Agathonike, who met their end in glory, after several and distinguished acts of confession.'

Text: Schwartz et al. 1999. Translation: E. Rizos.