Abstract 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.