Was St Peter crucified upside down?

A:Almost certainly not, for a number of reasons.

From a Roman point of view, it would have been unthinkable that they would grant a condemned criminal's wish to die in one way rather than another. If he had been sentenced to die by crucifixion, Peter could not have been permitted to negotiate any change to that sentence. Also, if the Romans decided to crucify someone, they would want him to die in the most agonising way possible, which would be by hanging downwards from his arms until he gradually and agonisingly suffocated.

The first known mention of the execution of St. Peter was made by the second-century Pope Anicetus who, wishing to demonstrate that he spoke with the authority of Peter, reported that Peter had been beheaded in Rome. A century later, Origen changed this to say that Peter was sentenced to crucifixion but, feeling unworthy of being crucified like Jesus, asked to be crucified upside down. Yet Clement of Rome, writing around 95 CE (1 Clement), spoke in general terms about the life and death of Peter but appears to have been unaware that he had even visited Rome and was certainly unaware that he had been executed in any way at all.

Although by omission, Clement provides the most reliable and timely information on the fate of Peter.