Martyrdom

History of Martyrdom

The word martyr comes from the Greek word martus, or witness, and was employed in the Greco-Roman world to identify one who provided [Page 751]testimony in legal proceedings. However, martyrdom became closely associated with the Christian tradition, largely because of the death of its progenitor, Jesus. Brought by Jewish leaders before the Roman governor of Judea for blasphemy, Jesus was crucified. After his death, the term martyr was increasingly used by the burgeoning Christian sect to denote one who testified to Jesus’ resurrection, which sometimes resulted in punishment by death. The Acts of the Apostles recounts the story of Stephen, who was stoned by Jewish religious authorities and came to be known as the protomartyr, the first to die for his Christian beliefs. According to tradition, most of the original followers of Jesus similarly underwent martyrdom.

Antecedents for martyrdom appear in both Greek and Jewish traditions before the time of Jesus. An early example in the Western tradition comes from the death of the philosopher Socrates in 399 BCE. Tried and convicted of teaching impiety, Socrates chose the sentence of drinking poison rather than being exiled from Athens. Speaking shortly before his death, he attributed his actions to divine compulsion. There were martyrs in the Jewish tradition before Jesus as well, most notably the Maccabeans, seven brothers who were executed by the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes for their refusal to defame the Jewish God by worshipping Greek deities. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman world, however, Christians’ refusal to participate in the social and civic functions earned the notice of public officials. Refusal, on questioning, to deny a Christian identity earned martyrs a public death. Martyrdom became the leitmotif of early Christianity, for the martyr was thought to act in imitation of Jesus Christ and provide an example to others. Furthermore, in death the martyr gained forgiveness and a place in heaven.

There were brief periods of Roman imperial action against Christianity during the first three centuries. This culminated with the Great Persecution, instituted by Diocletian in 303 and lasting until 313. It ended with the triumph of Constantine over his rivals. As the first Christian emperor, Constantine extended religious freedom to Christianity, and the time of active martyrdom came to a close.

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