Acts of Peter

The Acts of Peter were originally composed in Koine Greek during the second half of the 2nd century, probably in Asia Minor.

[2] The Manicheans are believed to have collected these five apocryphals Acts into a single corpus by the end of the 4th century.

[4] Peter preaches that Simon Magus is performing magic in order to convert followers through deception.

Outraged, Peter challenges Simon to a contest, in order to prove whose works are from a divine source and whose are merely trickery.

[8][9] Sometime in the middle of the 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria popularized the tradition that Peter requested to be crucified upside-down.

[10] At the end of the 4th century, Jerome wrote in his De Viris Illustribus ("On Illustrious Men") that the reason for this request was that Peter felt he was unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus.