During the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, there was an intense persecution of Christians. One of the martyred was Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who was an aged man when he was executed in 155 A.D. The Martyrdom of Polycarp was a written account of his death.

Marcus Aurelius was a stoic philosopher and was angered when Polycarp refused to offer sacrifice to him. The account of Polycarp’s steadfast faith was meant to inspire listeners, showing Polycarp as a model of the Christian martyr. At that time, Roman authorities regarded Christians as atheists, but Polycarp dismissed the crowds during his execution as atheists. 

Regarded as the perfect martyr by his Christians contemporaries at the time, Polycarp publicly prayed during his death and was burned in fire which did not harm him. He was finnaly killed by stabbing and called himself “a burnt offering.” 

Another famous account of martyrdom was Perpetua, who rejected her father’s plea to recant her Christian faith. She was then imprisoned for three days, during which she experienced visions that are described in her account. Eventually, Perpetua was executed along with four others in Carthage. 

Composed around 400, Augustine’s “Confessions” was the first autobiography written in the West. Directed at God, Augustine wanted readers to hear his string of sins. Also written for the composition to serve as a guide to understanding the nature of confessions. 

Augustine was converted to Christianity around 387 and was a master of rhetoric, before his conversion he had been a Manichean, which was the philosophic view that everything in the world is either good and evil. In his autobiography, Augustine described his conversion and psychological struggles in making the transition from Manicheanism to Christianity, citing that when he was a Manichean, he wished to have strong faith like his Christian mother, but couldn’t quite bring himself to convert. Initially, his autobiography was written to be read by Church clergy and scholars, not the general public. Nevertheless, Augustine became the most important thinker in the Western World until at least 1000 A.D.