The Apologists · AD 130–180 · External witness
Philip the Asiarch
Asiarch at Smyrna, AD 155 · Asiarch of the province · President of the games · Tralles / Smyrna
External witness
Who Philip the Asiarch was
The wealthy president of the festival at which Polycarp died — who refused the crowd's demand to loose a lion on the bishop, saying the beast-fights were closed. Roman order, for one moment, against the mob; the stake followed anyway.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 12 & 21 only; the Vita Polycarpi is of debated date and adds nothing independent.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Philip live?
Philip the Asiarch is dated Asiarch at Smyrna, AD 155 in the archive, which places Philip in the Apologists (AD 130–180).
Which early sources mention Philip?
Philip the Asiarch is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from The church of Smyrna. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Philip from?
The archive associates Philip the Asiarch with Tralles / Smyrna.
Who were Philip’s contemporaries?
The archive links Philip the Asiarch to 3 other figures, including Polycarp of Smyrna, Statius Quadratus and Herod the Irenarch. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 12
c. AD 156Then they thought fit to cry out with one accord that Polycarp should be burnt alive… they cried out to Philip the Asiarch to let loose a lion on Polycarp. But he said it was not lawful for him, since the beast-fights were over.The church of Smyrna · 12 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Philip, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.