Appendix 6. The Legend of Peter's Upside-Down Crucifixion

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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Caravaggio, 'Crucifixion of Peter' (1601), oil on canvas, 91x69 in, Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.

Caravaggio, 'Crucifixion of Peter' (1601), oil on canvas, 91x69 in, Church of Santa Maria del o, Rome. Larger image.

Only one early reference in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (200 AD) says that Peter was crucified upside down, repeated a century or two later by Eusebius (324 AD) and then Jerome (398 AD). It is a compelling image, often pictured by medieval painters such as Caravaggio (1601) and Masaccio (1426).

Frankly, I'd like to believe it. However, reading the account in the Acts of Peter, it appears to me a rather elaborate martyr's story, not an historical document. The description of his martyrdom there is replete with sermons and complex allegories.

Account in the Acts of Peter

The Acts of Peter attributes Peter's death not to Nero, but to a Roman prefect named Agrippa, who was angry with Peter for teaching his concubines to live in celibacy. Agrippa "commanded him to be crucified on an accusation of godlessness" (chapter 36). At the end of the document, Nero is angry at Agrippa, when he learns of Peter's crucifixion, because Nero had "desired to punish [Peter] more sorely and with greater torment" for making disciples of some of Nero's servants (chapter 41)

As Peter approaches the place of execution, he gives a speech to the people and the cross (chapter 36). He concludes by saying,

"It is time for you, Peter, to surrender your body to those who are taking it. Take it, then, you whose duty it is. I request you therefore, executioners, to crucify me head-downwards in this way and no other" (chapter 37).

Peter gives a final speech while upside down on the cross, comparing his upside-down crucifixion to the typical upside-down birth position of humans and comments on the cross and the nails as symbols of something else. Finally, after his complex sermon, Peter dies (chapter 40).

Eusebius's Account (324 AD) based on Origin

Eusebius writing about 324 AD and citing Origin, reports Peter's upside-down crucifixion rather matter-of-factly,

"At last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downwards; for he had requested that he might suffer in this way.... These facts are related by Origen in the third volume of his Commentary on Genesis."⁴⁵⁹

Origen of Alexandria (185-253 AD), early scholar and theologian, is said to have written over 2,000 treatises. Among his many commentaries, however, only his commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John are still in existence.

Jerome's Account (396 AD)

The next reference seems to be in about 396 AD, when Jerome writes:

"At [Nero's] hands [Peter] received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord."⁴⁶⁰

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After this, the legend becomes widely circulated, with St. Peter's Cross memorializing the legend along with many paintings.

The Romans were known to sometimes crucify victims in rather bizarre positions. However, I believe Peter being crucified upside down is such a striking image that it would have been explicitly mentioned whenever Peter's crucifixion is recorded by the earliest Christian writers, but it is not. I conclude that it is a legend, a compelling image, not historical.⁴⁶¹

End Notes

References and Abbreviations

[459] Eusebius, Church History 3.1.2.

[460] Jerome, Lives of Illustrious Men 1.

[461] Church historians Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, who annotated Eusebius' works in 1890 conclude about the tradition of Peter being crucified with his head downward: "Origen is the first to record that Peter was crucified with his head downward, but the tradition afterward became quite common. It is of course not impossible, but the absence of any reference to it by earlier Fathers (even by Tertullian, who mentions the crucifixion), and its decidedly legendary character, render it exceedingly doubtful" (footnote in Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds., Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of Constantine, vol. 1, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1890), footnote on Church History 3.1.2).

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