What is the Apostles' Creed, and where did creeds come from?

Irenaeus of Lyons c. 130–c. 202 ADAgainst Heresies 1.10.1

The Church, though scattered through the whole world to the ends of the earth, received from the apostles and their disciples the faith in one God the Father almighty, who made heaven and earth and the seas and all that is in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets proclaimed the plan, the comings, the birth from a Virgin, the passion, the rising from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord.

The three-part "rule of faith", the ancestor of every creed. The Greek survives in Epiphanius.

Tertullian c. 155–c. 220 ADPrescription against Heretics 13.1–5

The rule of faith ... is this: by which we believe that there is one only God, and no other besides the maker of the world, who produced all things out of nothing through his Word, sent forth first of all; that this Word, called his Son, was seen in various ways in the name of God by the patriarchs, was always heard in the prophets, and at last was brought down by the Spirit and power of God the Father into the Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, and was born of her as Jesus Christ; that he then preached a new law and a new promise of the kingdom of heaven, worked miracles, was nailed to the cross, rose on the third day, was caught up into heaven, sat at the right hand of the Father, and sent in his place the power of the Holy Spirit to lead believers.

The same outline as the later Apostles' Creed, in Tertullian's own words.

Council of NicaeaCreed of Nicaea (in Socrates, Church History 1.8) Creed

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things seen and unseen. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things came to be, things in heaven and things on earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh and became man, suffered, and rose on the third day, ascended into the heavens, and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit.

The first creed made by a council, built on a local baptismal creed. Its anathemas against Arius follow. Constantinople (381) expanded the article on the Spirit.

Marcellus of Ancyra c. 280–c. 374 ADLetter to Julius of Rome, in Epiphanius, Panarion 72.3

I believe in God Almighty; and in Christ Jesus, his only-begotten Son, our Lord, who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and buried, and on the third day rose from the dead, ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, whence he comes to judge living and dead; and in the Holy Spirit, a holy church, forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the flesh, eternal life.

Marcellus, exiled for opposing Arianism, sent his confession of faith to Pope Julius (about 340). It is the earliest surviving full text of the Roman baptismal creed, the ancestor of the Apostles' Creed; note that it ends with the resurrection of the flesh, not of the dead.

Council of ConstantinopleCreed of Constantinople Creed

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father, through whom all things were made; who for us humans and for our salvation came down from the heavens and was made flesh by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human; was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge living and dead, whose kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified together, who spoke through the prophets. In one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen.

The creed as read out at Chalcedon (451) and still sung by the churches: Nicaea's faith with the article on the Spirit filled out. Whether the council of 381 itself issued the creed in exactly this form is debated; the text here follows the Chalcedon acts as printed by Bright (1892).

Rufinus of Aquileia c. 345–411 ADCommentary on the Apostles' Creed 2

Our ancestors hand down that after the Lord's ascension ... the apostles, about to part from one another, first set down together a standard for their future preaching. ... So, all gathered in one place and filled with the Holy Spirit, they composed this short sign of their future preaching, each contributing what he thought, and decreed that it be given as a rule to believers. They chose to call it a symbol for many good reasons. For symbolum in Greek can mean both a sign and a contribution, that is, what many bring together into one.

The legend of apostolic authorship, which Lorenzo Valla disproved in the fifteenth century. Rufinus himself notes that the churches' creeds differ in wording.