High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Martyrdom of Polycarp is one of the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and as such is one of the very few eyewitness writings from the actual age of the persecutions. Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna around the years AD 155-160 (possibly AD 170-180). The letter as a whole takes influence from both Jewish martyrdom texts in the Old Testament and the Gospels. Furthermore, the Martyrdom of Polycarp promotes an ideology of martyrdom, by delineating the proper conduct of a martyr.