Martyrdom of Polycarp 12:1-3

The father of Christians; the destroyer of our gods!
12 1 Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ ἕτερα πλείονα λέγων θάρσους καὶ χαρᾶς ἐνεπίμπλατο, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ χάριτος ἐπληροῦντο, ὥστε οὐ μόνον μὴ συμπεσεῖν ταραχθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν λεγομένων πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ τοὐαντίον τὸν ἀνθύπατον ἐκστῆναι, πέμψαι τε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ κήρυκα ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ σταδίου κηρῦξαι τρίς· Πολύκαρπος ὡμολόγησεν ἑαυτὸν Χριστιανὸν εἶναι. 2 τούτου λεχθέντος ὑπὸ τοῦ κήρυκος, ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος ἐθνῶν τε καὶ Ἰουδαίων τῶν τὴν Σμύρναν κατοικούντων ἀκατασχέτῳ θυμῷ καὶ μεγάλῃ φωνῇ ἐπεβόα· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς Ἀσίας διδάσκαλος, ὁ πατὴρ τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ὁ τῶν ἡμετέρων θεῶν καθαιρέτης, ὁ πολλοὺς διδάσκων μὴ θύειν μηδὲ προσκυεῖν. ταῦτα λέγοντες ἐπεβόων καὶ ἠρώτων τὸν Ἀσιάρχην Φίλιππον, ἵνα ἐπαφῇ τῷ Πολυκάρπῳ λέοντα. ὁ δὲ ἔφη, μὴ εἶναι ἐξὸν αὐτῷ, ἐπειδὴ πεπληρώκει τὰ κυνηγέσια. 3 τότε ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπιβοῆσαι, ὥστε τὸν Πολύκαρπον ζῶντα κατακαῦσαι. ἔδει γὰρ τὸ τῆς φανερωθείσης αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ προσκεφαλαίου ὀπτασίας πληρωθῆναι, ὅτε ἰδῶν αὐτὸ καιόμενoν πρoσευχόμενoς εἰπεν ἐπιστραφεὶς τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ πιστοῖς προφητικῶς· Δεῖ με ζῶντα καῆναι.

12 1 As he spoke these and other things, he was filled with courage and joy, and his face was filled with grace, so that not only did he not collapse in terror at what was said, but on the contrary, the proconsul was amazed. He sent his herald into the center of the stadium to announce three times, “Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian!” 
     2 When the herald said this, the whole crowd of Gentiles and Jews who lived in Smyrna yelled with uncontrolled anger and cried out: “This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods; the one who teaches many not to sacrifice or to worship!” 
     They said this, shouting and asking for Philip the Asiarch to set a lion upon Polycarp. But he said that he had no right to do that since he had ended the animal hunts. 
     3 Then it occurred to them to start shouting all together that he burn Polycarp alive (for it was necessary the vision be fulfilled that had appeared to him when he saw his pillow burning as he prayed and turned and said prophetically to those faithful who were with him, “I must be burned alive”).¹
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¹ 12:3 Cf. Genesis 38:24; Judges 15:6, etc.

12:1 θάρσους acc pl θάρσος “courage.”

12:1 ἐνεπίμπλατο imperfect active indicative 3 sg ἐμπίμπλημι, “fill, satisfy; enjoy.” Proverbs 30:15.

12:1 συμπεσεῖν future active infinitive συμπίπτω, “collapse, fall.”

12:2 λεχθέντος aorist passive participle masc/neut gen sg λέγω “say, speak, tell.” The unusual thing here is that in the aorist passive, the expected participle of λέγωwould be ῥηθείς as in Matthew 3:3; Genesis 45:27; Daniel 8:26 (Theod); 1 Esdras 1:45; 2 Macc. 14:11; 3 Macc. 5:30, or the very common neuter sg. ῥηθέν Mt. 1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 22:31; 24:15 and 27:9. This more rare form occurs in the LXX in Joshua 24:27 (τὰ  λεχθέντα) and in Esther 1:18: “the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard (λεχθέντα) of the queen's behavior.”

12:2 ἀκατασχέτῳ rare adjective (ἀκατάσχετον 3 Macc. 6:17) “uncontrollable.” Cp. ἀκατάστατον James 3:8.

12:2 Ἀσιάρχην  “Asiarch,” the head of the confederation of the principal Roman cities in Asia Minor, the Commune Asiae. He presided over the games and was effectively the chief priest of Asia.

12:2 Φίλιππον “Philip,” called a Trallian (Τραλλιανοῦ) in chapter 21, where he is also described as “high priest” (ἀρχιερέως). Strabo says that Trallians were often made Asiarchs because of the wealth of their city. This Philip is also mentioned in an inscription at Olympia dating to 149 AD (Ὀλυμπιάδι σλβ', the 239th Olympics).

12:2  ἐπεβόα (imf 3rd sg) and ἐπεβόων (m gen pl ptc) ἐπιβoάω, “cry out loudly.” Cf. Acts 25:24 (v.l. TR); MPol 3.

12:2 λέοντα acc m sg λέων, “lion.” Eccl. 9:4, etc.

12:2 τὰ κυνηγέσια “(animal) hunt.” Only here in our lit., but related to the verb κυνηγέω in the Septuagint (καὶ  ἦν  Ησαυ  ἄνθρωπος  εἰδὼς  κυνηγεῖν  ἄγροικος, “Esau became sure of the hunt/a skillful hunter,” Genesis 25:27) and the noun κυνήγιoν (Sirach 13:19).

12:3 ὀπτασίας “vision,” fem acc pl ὀπτασία, 2 Cor. 12:1; also something like “appearance,” Sirach 43:2; 43:16; etc. Also “public appearance,” in the Additions to Esther 4:17[23].

12:3 καῆναι aorist passive infinitive; καίω “burn,” passive “be burned.”