Martyrdom of Polycarp 14:1-3

14 Οἱ δὲ οὐ καθήλωσαν μέν, προσέδησαν δὲ αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω τὰς χεῖρας ποιήσας καὶ προσδεθείς, ὥσπερ κριὸς ἐπίσημος ἐκ μεγάλου ποιμνίου εἰς προσφοράν, ὁλοκαύτωμα δεκτὸν τῷ θεῷ ἡτοιμασμένον, ἀναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶπεν·
.     Κύριε ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ καὶ εὐλογητοῦ παιδός σου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πατήρ, δι’ οὗ τὴν περὶ σοῦ ἐπίγνωσιν εἰλήφαμεν, ὁ θεὸς [ὁ] ἀγγέλων καὶ δυνάμεων καὶ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως παντός τε τοῦ γένους τῶν δικαίων, οἳ ζῶσιν ἐνώπιόν σου· 2 εὐλογῶ σε, ὅτι ἠξίωσάς με τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ ὥρας ταύτης, τοῦ λαβεῖν με μέρος ἐν ἀριθμῷ τῶν μαρτύρων ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς αἰωνίου ψυχῆς τε καὶ σώματος ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ πνεύματος ἁγίου· ἐν οἷς προσδεχθείην ἐνώπιόν σου σήμερον ἐν θυσίᾳ πίονι καὶ προσδεκτῇ, καθὼς προητοίμασας καὶ πρoεφανέρωσας καὶ ἐπλήρωσας, ὁ ἀψευδὴς καὶ ἀληθινὸς θεός. 3 διὰ τοῦτο καὶ περὶ πάντων σὲ αἰνῶ, σὲ εὐλογῶ, σὲ δοξάζω διὰ τοῦ αἰωνίου καί ἐπουρανίου ἀρχιερέως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀγαπητοῦ σου παιδός, δι’ οὗ σοὶ σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ πνεύματι ἁγίῳ [ἡ] δόξα καὶ νῦν [καὶ ἀεὶ] καὶ εἰς τοὺς μέλλοντας αἰῶνας. ἀμήν.
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14:3 [καὶ ἀεὶ] Mosquensis 160 (Latin: et in futurum in saecula saeculorum); text: Baroccianus 238; Paris 1452; Vindob. Hist. Greac.; S. Sep. Hierosl. I; Eusebius.
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14:2 εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, John 5:21.

Polycarp’s Prayer
14 1 So instead of nailing him, they started to bind him instead. When he had put his hands behind his back and had been bound (like a good ram from a large flock for sacrifice, prepared as a burnt offering1 acceptable to God), he looked up to heaven and said, 
     “Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and powers and every created thing, and the whole race of the just who dwell before you, 2 I bless you because you have considered me worthy of this day and hour to receive a portion in the cup of your Christ, among the number of martyrs, to the resurrection of eternal life of both soul and body in the incorruption of the Holy Spirit. May I be received today among them as a fine and acceptable sacrifice just as you have prepared beforehand and fulfilled, O undeceiving and true God. 3 For this reason and for all these things I praise you, I bless you and I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ your beloved Son, through whom to you and the Holy Spirit with him be glory now and forever, Amen.”
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“now and forever, Amen,” One Greek Ms and Latin read “now, always and forever, Amen."

The body of Polycarp’s prayer is filled with Scriptural references and in fact contains very little that is not quoted verbatim from the Bible.

MPol. 14:1

Οἱ δὲ οὐ καθήλωσαν μέν, προσέδησαν δὲ αὐτόν. "So instead of nailing him, they started to bind him instead." Here is a traditional and classic μέν...δὲ clause.

καθήλωσαν aorist 3rd plural καθηλόω, "nail; nail to." Septuagint word: Psalm 119[118]:120, where the meaning might be "(my flesh) bristles up like nails."

προσέδησαν aorist 3rd plural προσδίδωμι "give over, hand over." Another Septuagint word (Ezekiel 16:34), although it occurs in the variant of Uncial D in Luke 24:30 for ἐπεδίδου (προσεδίδου) "he broke (the bread) and began to give it (over) to them..."

ὁλοκαύτωμα Greek "holocaust," whole burnt offering. Of course in the last century this word has taken on another meaning altogether because of the memory of the atrocities of the war, but such things cannot be read backward into this second century text.

δεκτὸν, "acceptable." Accusative singular δεκτός; cf. Luke 4:24. More common in the LXX.

κριός “ram,” (Latin aries, also used of a battering-ram), Gen. 22:13; Ezek. 46:6; Daniel (Theod.)  8:3, 20; and many times in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.


MPol. 14:2

Κύριε ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, “Lord God Almighty.” Amos 3:13; 4:13; 5:8, 14-16; 9:15; Hos. 12:5; Rev. 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22; Apostolic Constitutions 8,15,2; cf. Didache 10:3.

πατήρ, “Father…” Apost. Const. 8,15,2, “Master, God Almighty, Father of your Christ, your blessed son…”

ὁ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ... σου “of your beloved,” Matt 12:8; cf. Mark 1:1; 9:7; Diog. 8:11; 1 Clement 59:2.

καὶ εὐλογητοῦ, “and blessed” Apost. Const. 8,15,2; cf. Matt 12:8.

παιδός “Son,” Isaiah 52:13; Acts 3:13, 26; 4:27, 30; Barn 9:2; Diog 8:9,11; 9:1; 1 Clem. 59:2-4; Apost. Const. 8,15,2.

Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ “Jesus Christ,” (cf. “Father” above)

δι’ οὗ “through whom,” (referring to the work of Christ on our behalf) cf. 1 Clem. 58:2; 59:2, 3; 61:3; 62; 65; 2 Clem 20:5.

τὴν περὶ σοῦ ἐπίγνωσιν εἰλήφαμεν “we have received knowledge of you” 1 Clem 59:2; cf. Did 9:2-3; 10:2; Apost Const 8,11,2.

ὁ θεὸς ἀγγέλων “God of angels” Apost. Const. 8,12,8.

καὶ δυνάμεων “and powers” 1 Kings 17:1; Psalm 59:5; cf. Judith 9:14; 13:4.

καὶ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως “and every created thing” Judith 9:2 (cf. Colossians 1:15)

παντός τε τοῦ γένους τῶν δικαίων “and the whole race of the just”   Hermas Hs 9,17,5; cf. Mart. Polycarp 17:1.


MPol. 14:3

εὐλογῶ σε “I bless you” Acts of Paul and Thecla 24; Lk 1:64; 2:28; 24:53.

ὅτι ἠξίωσάς με “because you have considered me worthy”  4 Macc. 18:3.

τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ ὥρας ταύτης, “of this day and hour” Cf. John 12:27. He means, the moment of his martyrdom.

μέρος “a portion” Rev. 20:6.

ἐν ἀριθμῷ “among the number” Cf. Exodus 12:4; Deut. 32:8; Luke 22:3; Rev. 6:9-11; 7:4; 13:17, 18; 15:2; 1 Clement 59:2.

ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ  “in the cup” Mark 14:26

τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου “of your Christ” Apost. Const. 8,15,2.

εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς αἰωνίου “to the resurrection of eternal life” John 5:29

ψυχῆς τε καὶ σώματος  “soul and body” Apost. Const. 8,14,2

ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ “in the incorruption” Cf. 4 Macc 17:2

ἐν θυσίᾳ πίονι “be received as a rich sacrifice” Cf. Dan 3:39-40; 4 Macc 1:11.

πρεφανέρωσας “prepared” Cf. Didache 10:5

ὁ ἀψευδὴς καὶ ἀληθινὸς θεός “undeceiving and true God” Cf. John 17:3; Ign Rom 8:2; Apost. Con. 8,18,1

σὲ δοξάζω καὶ περὶ πάντων σὲ αἰνῶ, σὲ εὐλογῶ “I praise…bless…glorify you”    All Biblical, but found in this order first in Apost. Con. 7,47,2; 8,12,27

διὰ τοῦ αἰωνίου καί ἐπουρανίου ἀρχιερέως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ “Eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ”     Polycarp 12:2; 1 Clement 61:3; Ch. 64; Apost. Con 7,47,2

ἀγαπητοῦ σου παιδός, δι’ οὗ σοὶ σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ πνεύματι ἁγίῳ δόξα καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς τοὺς μέλλοντας αἰῶνας “Beloved son through whom…forever”   Cf. 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Clement 65:2.

Martyrdom of Polycarp 13:1-3

13 1 Ταῦτα οὖν μετὰ τοσούτου τάχους ἐγένετο, θάττον ἢ ἐλέγετο, τῶν ὄχλων παραχρῆμα συναγόντων ἔκ τε τῶν ἐργαστηρίων καὶ βαλανείων ξύλα καὶ φρύγανα, μάλιστα Ἰουδαίων προθύμως, ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς, εἰς ταῦτα ὑπουργούντων. 2 ὅτε δὲ ἡ πυρκαϊὰ ἡτοιμάσθη, ἀποθέμενος ἑαυτῷ πάντα τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ λύσας τὴν ζώνην ἐπειρᾶτο καὶ ὑπολύειν ἑαυτόν, μὴ πρότερον τοῦτο ποιῶν διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ ἕκαστoν τῶν πιστῶν σπoυδάζειν, ὅστις τάχιoν τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ ἅψηται· παντὶ γὰρ καλῷ ἀγαθῆς ἕνεκεν πολιτείας καὶ πρὸ τῆς μαρτυρίας ἐκεκόσμητο. 3 εὐθέως οὖν αὐτῷ περιετίθετο τὰ πρὸς τὴν πυρὰν ἡρμοσμένα ὄργανα. μελλόντων δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ προσηλοῦν, εἶπεν· Ἄφετέ με οὕτως· ὁ γὰρ δοὺς ὑπομεῖναι τὸ πῦρ δώσει χωρὶς τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐκ τῶν ἥλων ἀσφαλείας ἄσκυλτον ἐπιμεῖναι τῇ πυρᾷ.

The Pyre is Prepared
13 1 This happened then so quickly – more quickly than it will take to relate it. The crowd wasted no time gathering wood and fuel from the shops and bathhouses. The Jews were especially energetic (as they usually are) in helping with this. 2 When the pyre was made ready, he willingly removed all his outer clothes and loosened his belt. He also tried to take off his own shoes, although he wasn’t used to doing this since each of the faithful always rushed to be the first to touch his flesh, for he was adorned with every (power) because of his godly way of life even before his martyrdom. 3 At once the material prepared for the pyre was set around him. As they were also about to nail him, he said, “Leave me as I am. He who makes it possible for me to endure the fire will also make it possible for me to remain on the pyre untroubled by nails.”
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13:1 θάττον Attic adverb; comparative (neuter accusative singular) of ταχέως “quickly, without delay.” In Homeric Greek, ταχέως was not the comparative of ταχύς, although the superlative τάχιστα was used. Instead, Homer preferred θᾶσσον (adv) and θᾶσσων (adj). The form θάττον survives in the Fathers only here and in 1 Clement 65:1. Cf. Autenreith's A Homeric Dictionary, 1876/1901.

13:1 φρύγανα "bathhouses," the public baths, where water was heated in an elaborate system of pipes and used a considerable amount of wood and sometimes other fuel such as charcoal.

13:1 ὑπουργούντων present active participle m gen pl ὑπουργέω, “be helpful.” Test. Dan. 3:4.

13:1 ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς "as they usually are," not so much anti-semitism as the bitterness of experience expressing itself by one who has been persecuted in this way.

13:2 ἡ πυρκαϊά (some mss. read πυρά as in verse 3 below) “pyre; funeral pyre; conflagration.” According to Lampe, the verb πυρκαϊάζω “cause to burn, blaze up” also occurs.

13:3 ἡρμοσμένα perfect passive participle neuter nom/acc plural ἁρμόζω, “fit, fit together.” Dg. 12:9. In the middle, it can mean “betrothed” as in 2 Cor. 11:2; commonplace as “fit in” in Hermas (Hs 9,7,2 and 4; 9,9,3; Hv 3,2,8; 3,6,5; 3,7,6).

13:3 ὄργανα “a work, tool; instrument.” Apart from the Fathers (2 Clem. 18:2; IRom 4:2) this is mainly a Septuagint word (2 Sam. 6:5,14; 1 Chr. 5:13; 6:17; 15:16; 16:5; 2 Macc. 12:27; 13:5; 4 Macc. 10:7).

13:3 προσηλοῦν present infinitive of the -όω contract verb προσηλόω, “fasten, nail” (here “nail” since the nails, ἥλων, are specifically mentioned). Cp. Colossians 2:14.

13:3 τῆς ὑμετέρας possessive adjective, fem gen sg ὑμετέρoς, “your.”

13:3 ἄσκυλτον adj., accusative singular from ἄσκυλτος “untroubled; not tortured; undisturbed.” This is the only occurrence in the Fathers; it does not occur in the NT or LXX. It occurs in the Apostolic Constitutions (1,3,8), and the adverb ἀσκύλτως “without flinching, without budging, without trouble” occurs in later  Byzantine Greek.

13:3 ἥλων gen. plural ἥλoς “nail(s).”

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.”

Martyrdom of Polycarp 11:1-2

11 Ὁ δὲ ἀνθύπατος εἶπεν· Θηρία ἔχω, τούτοις σε παραβαλῶ, ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσῃς. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Κάλει, ἀμετάθετος γὰρ ἡμῖν ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω μετάνοια· καλὸν δὲ μετατίθεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν χαλεπῶν ἐπὶ τὰ δίκαια. 2 ὁ δὲ πάλιν πρὸς αὐτόν· Πυρί σε ποιῶ δαπανηθῆναι, εἰ τῶν θηρίων καταφρονεῖς, ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσῃς. ὁ δὲ Πολύκαρπος [εἶπεν]· Πῦρ ἀπειλεῖς τὸ πρὸς ὥραν καιόμενον καὶ μετ’ ὀλίγον σβεννύμενον· ἀγνοεῖς γὰρ τὸ τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως καὶ αἰωνίου κολάσεως τοῖς ἀσεβέσι τηρούμενον πῦρ. ἀλλὰ τί βραδύνεις; φέρε, ὃ βούλει.

Polycarp Threatened with Wild Beasts
11 The proconsul said, “I have wild animals – I will throw you to them unless you change your mind.” But he replied, “Call for them! A change from better to worse is impossible for us. But it is right to change from evil to good.” 
     2 Again he said, “I will have you consumed by fire if you despise wild animals – unless you change your mind.” Polycarp replied, “You threaten fire that burns for an hour and is soon quenched, for you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and the eternal punishment reserved for the wicked. But why are you waiting? Come! Do what you will!”

11:1 θηρία “wild animals.” The idea of fighting wild animals in the arena is present in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15:32) but begins to be a more and more prevalent theme throughout the Fathers: IRom. 4:1f.; 5:3; ISmyr. 4:2; MPol 3; 11; Hv 3,2,1.

παραβαλῶ "I shall throw (you)" The transitive use of παραβάλλω doesn't occur in the New Testament except in a variant reading like the cognate Byzantine phrase in Mark 4:30 pointed out by BAG: πoίᾳ παραβολῇ παραβάλωμεν αὐτὴν; “With what sort of parable shall we use in comparing it?” The transitive meaning does occur elsewhere in the Fathers: 1 Clement 55:6 (relating the Esther story); Diognetus 7:7.

11:2 δαπανηθῆναι aor pass inf δαπανάω, which has a primary meaning of “spend” but here takes a secondary meaning of “expend; destroy; be consumed (by fire).” A similar meaning occurs in 2 Macc. 1:23; 2:10; and in Hermas (Hm 12,1,2).

11:2 καιόμενον “burning,” present passive participle καίω “burn.” The theme of hell as a burning fire is present throughout the Bible. Isaiah ends his final chapter with this warning about "those who rebelled against me:" "Their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind" (Isaiah 66:24). Jude describes the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah this way: "They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 7).

11:2 ἀσεβέσι “godless, impious.” Adjective, masc dative plural ἀσεβής. 1 Peter 4:18. Accused of being an atheist, Polycarp proclaims God's judgment on men like the proconsul who are utterly godless.

11:2 βραδύνεις “(Why) do you delay” present active indicative  3 sing. βραδύνω (cp. 1 Timothy 3:15).

Martyrdom of Polycarp 10:1-2

10 1 Ἐπιμένοντος δὲ´πάλιν αὐτοῦ καὶ λέγοντος· Ὄμοσον τὴν Καίσαρος τύχην, ἀπεκρίνατο· Εἰ κενοδοξεῖς, ἵνα ὀμόσω τὴν καίσαρος τύχην, ὡς σὺ λέγεις, προσποιεῖ δὲ ἀγνοεῖν με, τίς εἰμι, μετὰ παρρησίας ἄκουε· Χριστιανός εἰμι. εἰ δὲ θέλεις τὸν τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ μαθεῖν λόγον, δὸς ἡμέραν καὶ ἄκουσον. 2 ἔφη ὁ ἀνθύπατος· Πεῖσον τὸν δῆμον. ὁ δὲ Πολύκαρπος εἶπεν· Σὲ μὲν κἂν λόγου ἠξίωσα· δεδιδάγμεθα γὰρ ἀρχαῖς καὶ ἐξουσίαις ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τεταγμέναις τιμὴν κατὰ τό προσῆκον, τὴν μὴ βλάπτουσαν ἡμᾶς, ἀπονέμειν· ἐκείνους δὲ οὐχ ἡγοῦμαι ἀξίους τοῦ ἀπολογεῖσθαι αὐτοῖς.


“I am a Christian.”
10 Since he persisted and said, “Swear by the Fortunes of Caesar,” he answered, “If you vainly expect that I will swear by—as you say—the Fortune of Caesar, and act as if t I don’t know who I am, then listen to me openly: I am a Christian! If you want to learn the teaching of Christianity,u then name the day and hear about it. 2 The proconsul replied, “Persuade the people.” Polycarp answered, “To you indeed I consider myself accountable, for we have been taught to give honor the rulers and authorities appointed by God as long as it does not harm us. As for these, I don’t consider myself worthy to defend myself before them.”
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10:2 "worthy to defend myself before them" or perhaps "bound to defend myself before them."

10:1 Ὄμοσον “Swear” is an aorist (II Aor.) imperative from ὀμνύω or ὄμνυμι. This is the primary verb in Jesus' words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:20-22. Moulton says that “Verbs in -υμι, of more than two syllables, are without the 2nd aorist. But those of two syllables are generally only used in the 2nd aorist (he includes several examples)” (The Analytical Greek Lexicon, Revised 1978 Edition, p. xxxvi). ὄμοσον, the verb before us, follows the 2nd aorist pattern:

ὄμοσον     2nd singular
ὀμότω       3rd singular
  ὄμοτε        2nd plural
ὀμότωσαν 3rd plural
ὄμοτον      2nd dual
ὀμότων      3rd dual

10:1 προσποιεῖ “pretend, act as if.” Present active indicative 3 sg προσποιέομαι. Cf. Luke 24:28; Susanna 1:10 (the translations find this passage difficult, but KJV’s “yet durst not shew another his grief” catches the mood if not the grammar).

10:1 Χριστιανισμοῦ “Christianity” a word found only in this document and the letters of Ignatius (IRo 3:3; IMg 10:1,3; IPhld 6:1).

10:2 λόγον accusative singular, but here in the sense of “an account” rather than simply “word,” Compare Hebrews 4:13, πρὸς ὃν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος “to whom we must give account.”

10:2 δεδιδάγμεθα perfect passive participle m nom pl διδάσκω, “teach.” Polycarp’s point is that Christians abide by all laws of the Empire except where those laws clearly circumvent the authority of God himself (Acts 5:29).

10:2 προσῆκον present active participle  neuter nom sg προσήκω, a Septuagint word (1 Esdras 5:50; 2 Macc. 3:6) “be near, to have come/arrived at.”

10:2  ἀπολογεῖσθαι present middle infinitive  ἀπολογέομαι, “defend oneself,” a natural occurrence of the middle voice retaining its middle force.

Martyrdom of Polycarp 9:1-3

Polycarp’s Trial
9 1 Τῷ δὲ Πολυκάρπῳ εἰσιόντι εἰς τὸ στάδιον φωνὴ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐγένετο· Ἴσχυε, Πολύκαρπε, καὶ ἀνδρίζου. καὶ τὸν μὲν εἰπόντα οὐδεὶς εἶδεν, τὴν δὲ φωνὴν τῶν ἡμετέρων οἱ παρόντες ἤκουσαν. καὶ λοιπὸν προσαχθέντος αὐτοῦ, θόρυβος ἦν μέγας ἀκουσάντων, ὅτι Πολύκαρπος συνείληπται. 2 προσαχθέντα οὖν αὐτὸν ἀνηρώτα ὁ ἀνθύπατος, εἰ αὐτὸς εἴη Πολύκαρπος. τοῦ δὲ ὁμολογοῦντος, ἔπειθεν ἀρνεῖσθαι λέγων· Αἰδέσθητί σου τὴν ἡλικίαν, καὶ ἕτερα τούτοις ἀκόλουθα, ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς λέγειν· Ὄμοσον τὴν Καίσαρος τύχην, μετανόησον, εἶπον· Αἶρε τοὺς ἀθέους. ὁ δὲ Πολύκαρπος ἐμβριθεῖ τῷ πρoσώπῳ εἰς πάντα τὸν ὄχλον τὸν ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ ἀνόμων ἐθνῶν ἐμβλέψας καὶ ἐπισείσας αὐτοῖς τὴν χεῖρα, στενάξας τε καὶ ἀναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶπεν· Αἶρε τοὺς ἀθέους. 3 ἐγκειμένου δὲ τοῦ ἀνθυπάτου καὶ λέγοντος· Ὄμοσον, καὶ ἀπολύω σε, λοιδόρησον τὸν Χριστὸν, ἔφη ὁ Πολύκαρπος· Ὀγδoήκoντα καὶ ἓξ ἔτη δουλεύω αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐδέν με ἠδίκησεν· καὶ´πῶς δύναμαι βλασφημῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα μου τὸν σώσαντά με;

9 1 As he entered the stadium, a voice from heaven came to Polycarp: “Be strong and courageous, Polycarp!” No one saw the one who spoke, but many of our people heard the voice. Then, as he was brought forward,there was a very loud uproar now that they heard that Polycarp had been arrested. 2 So after he was brought forward, the proconsul asked him whether it was he, and when he admitted this, he tried to persuade him to deny his faith, saying “Respect you age,” and the other things that always follow this, like “Swear by the Genius of Caesar, change your mind,” and “Say: ‘Away with the atheists!’” 3 When the proconsul kept saying, “Take the oath and I will let you go; revile Christ,” Polycarp replied, “I have served him eighty-six years and he has never dealt injustly with me in any way. How can I blaspheme my king – the one who saved me?”
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9:1 “Be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:6, 7, 9; Deuteronomy 31:7; Ps-Ign. Hero 8.
9:2 “Away with the atheists,” that is, the Christians, because they deny the divinity of Caesar.

9:1 εἰσιόντι present active participle m dat sg εἴσειμι, “enter, go in.”

9:1 προσαχθέντος “bring forward” aorist passive participle προσάγω. I have taken the participle to be preliminary, as aorist circumstantial participles so often are.

9:2 ἀνηρώτα imperfect active indicative  3rd sg ἀνερωτάω “ask.” The ἀν- prefix probably intensifies the meaning, and we should understand a meaning like “pressed, inquired.” The word does not appear in Lampe's patristic lexicon, but the noun ἀνηρώτησις is there with the meaning "inquiry" (from Justin Martyr, Dialogue 68,3).

9:2 Αἰδέσθητί “respect, have regard for” Aorist passive αἰδέoμαι, a Septuagint word meaning primarily "be ashamed" but also "respect" (Prov. 24:23).

9:2 ἐμβριθεῖ “dignified, serious” ἐμβριθῆς.

9:2 ἐπισείσας “shake (one’s fist) at” Aorist ἐπισείω. The secondary meaning “urge on, incite” is used in the variant ἐπεισείσαντες of Acts 14:19 (Uncial D); cf. also 1 Samuel 26:19:  “The Lord has incited you against me.”

9:3 Ὀγδoήκoντα καὶ ἓξ ἔτη  “eighty-six years,” Polycarp was born in about 70 AD, around the time of the destruction of the temple. He would have been in his twenties when John was writing his books; just the age to have been able to still be called a disciple of John.

9:3 λοιδόρησον “revile, abuse” aorist λοιδoρέω, as in John 9:28; Acts 23:4.

9:3 βλασφημῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα μου  “How can I blaspheme my king?” Christ is truly King over all mankind, and the Christian in particular understands this through the sacrifice he made and the rescue he brought for all mankind from our sins. 

Martyrdom of Polycarp 8:1-3

8  1 Ἐπεὶ δε ποτε κατέπαυσεν τὴν προσευχήν, μνημονεύσας ἁπάντων καὶ τῶν πώποτε συμβεβληκότων αὐτῷ, μικρῶν τε καὶ μεγάλων, ἐνδόξων τε καὶ ἀδόξων καὶ πάσης τῆς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας, τῆς ὥρας ἐλθούσης τοῦ ἐξιέναι, ὄνῳ καθίσαντες αὐτὸν ἤγαγον εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὄντος σαββάτου μεγάλου. 2 καὶ ὑπήντα αὐτῷ ὁ εἰρήναρχος Ἡρώδης καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ Νικήτης, οἳ καὶ μεταθέντες αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν καροῦχαν ἔπειθον παρακαθεζόμενοι καὶ λέγοντες· Τί γὰρ κακόν ἐστιν εἰπεῖν· Κύριος καῖσαρ, καὶ ἐπιθῦσαι καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀκόλουθα καὶ διασώζεσθαι; ὁ δὲ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα οὐκ ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς, ἐπιμενόντων δὲ αὐτῶν ἔφη· Οὐ μέλλω ποιεῖν, ὃ συμβουλεύετέ μοι. 3 οἱ δὲ ἀποτυχόντες τοῦ πεῖσαι αὐτὸν δεινὰ ῥήματα ἔλεγον αὐτῷ καὶ μετὰ σπουδῆς καθῄρουν αὐτόν, ὡς κατιόνοτα ἀπὸ τῆς καρούχας ἀποσῦραι τὸ ἀντικνήμιον. καὶ μὴ ἐπιτραφείς, ὡς οὐδὲν πεπονθὼς προθύμως μετὰ σπουδῆς ἐπορεύετο, ἀγόμενος εἰς τὸ στάδιον, θορύβου τηλικούτου ὄντος ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ, ὡς μηδὲ ἀκουσθῆναί τινα δύνασθαι.

Polycarp’s Trial
8 1 When he had finally finished his prayer (in which he remembered everyone he had ever met, great and small, high and low, and the whole Christian1 church throughout the world), the hour came for them to go, and they set him on a donkey and brought him into the city. It was a high Sabbath. 2 The police captain Herod and Nicetes his father met him. They moved him into their carriage and sat down beside him, trying to persuade him, saying, “Why? What is wrong with saying ‘Caesar is Lord’ and sacrificing and the other things, and be saved?” 
     At first he didn’t answer them, but when they kept it up, he said: “I’m not about to do what you advise me.”
     3 Since they failed to persuade him, they began to threaten him and pulled him out of the carriage so violently that on his way down he scraped his shin. Without turning around, he walked along quickly as if he had no injury.
     While he was being led into the stadium, the uproar was so loud that many could not even hear the announcement.

1 8:1 Christian, Greek catholic, but of course in the “universal” sense and not in the “Roman Catholic” sense.

8:2 καροῦχαν “carriage,” ἐπί with the accusative “into the carriage.” A carruca (Latin) is actually a Celtic loanword brought into Greek and the Romance languages after contact was made with the British isles. This is the only use of this word in our literature except a variant of Isaiah 66:20 in Symmachus’ Greek Old Testament.

8:2 παρακαθεζόμενοι “sit down beside.” Pres middle participle παρακαθίζω. Hv 5:2; Job 2:13; Luke 10:39 (variant in textus receptus). This verse is not mentioned in BAGD.

8:2 ἀκόλουθα “following,” acc. pl, ἀκόλουθoς, a Septuagint word (1 Esdras 8:14) related to the common NT verb ἀκoλουθέω, “to follow,” and our grammatical term anacolouthon, literally “it does not follow” or “a mistake.”

8:3 ἀποσύραι “flay; scrape or tear the skin off” Aor inf ἀποσύρω. The close-sounding ἀποσυρίζω, however, means "hiss out" (I can't help but think of the sound of "searing," συρίζω, when I press down on a burger as it fries) or "eject with hissing" according to Lampe's patristic lexicon. This term seems more closely tied to the NT word σύρω, "drag, drag down" (Rev. 12:4). Hapax.

8:3 ἀντικνήμιον. “shin.” Hapax, cf. Hippocrites.

8:3 ἐπιτραφείς “turned,” aor pass ptc ἐπιτρέφω, prelim ptc.

8:3 πεπονθὼς “suffered, endured.” Perfect active participle πάσχω (πέπονθα). Although πάσχω once may have had a good or at least neutral sense, throughout the NT and related lit. it has a negative, suffering quality. It is not really “passion” in the positive sense sometimes employed in English.

8:3 τηλικούτου “so great, so large.” Cf. 2 Cor. 1:10.