Chapter published in:
Humour in the Beginning: Religion, humour and laughter in formative stages of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism
Edited by Roald Dijkstra and Paul van der Velde
[Topics in Humor Research 10] 2022
► pp. 82–92

The smile of the martyr

| Aix-Marseille University

A martyr smiling while interrogated or tortured is a topos of Early Christian martyrological literature. It is also present in stories on Jewish martyrs in the rabbinic literature. Authors of Acta and Passiones often oppose the laughter of the pagan crowd to the smile of the Christian martyr. The Greek word μειδιᾶν (‘to smile’) and γελᾶν (‘to laugh’) suppose different emotional attitudes as well as different facial expressions. This article aims to show how Christian authors use this opposition and propose the martyr’s smile as the final strategy of resistance against violence and as an ideal paradigm of Christian behaviour.

Keywords: smile, laughter, Early Christianity, martyrdom, martyr acts and passions, rabbi Akiva, violence
Article outline
  • Martyrdom as religious body practice
  • The smiling martyr
  • Stoic smile and eschatological smile
  • Smile versus laughter
  • Martyr’s jokes
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
Published online: 27 October 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.10.08lan
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