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The brazen bull, also known as the bronze bull, Sicilian bull, or bull of Phalaris, was a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. [1] According to Diodorus Siculus , recounting the story in Bibliotheca historica , Perilaus (Περίλαος) (or Perillus (Πέριλλος)) of Athens invented and proposed it to Phalaris , the ...
A cheap and effective way to torture someone was with the use of rats. One of the first documented utilizations of the method was by Diederik Sonoy. [9] There were many variants, but the most common was to force a rat through a victim's body (usually the intestines) as a way to escape. The victim would be completely restrained and tied to the ...
Scaphism (from Greek σκάφη, meaning "boat"), [1] also known as the boats, is reported by Plutarch in his Life of Artaxerxes as an ancient Persian method of execution.He describes the victim being trapped between two small boats, one inverted on top of the other, with limbs and head sticking out, feeding them and smearing them with milk and honey, and allowing them to fester and be ...
An ancient Greek coin with a portrait of Nabis, king of Sparta and inventor of the Iron Apega. The Apega of Nabis, also known as the Iron Apega, was described by Polybius [1] as an ancient torture device similar to the iron maiden. It was invented by Nabis, a king who ruled Sparta as a tyrant from 207 to 192 BC.
Forced suicide was a common means of execution in ancient Greece and Rome. As a mark of respect it was generally reserved for aristocrats sentenced to death; the victims would either drink hemlock or fall on their swords. Economic motivations prompted some suicides in ancient Rome.
It is unclear exactly from which civilization the rack originated, though some of the earliest examples are from Greece. [citation needed] The Greeks may have first used the rack as a means of torturing slaves and non-citizens, and later in special cases, as in 356 BC, when it was applied to gain a confession from Herostratus, an arsonist who was later executed for burning down the Temple of ...
The punishment has been used since Antiquity; Greek mythology makes several references to blinding as divine punishment, which reflects human practice. In the Byzantine Empire and many other historical societies, blinding was accomplished by gouging out the eyes , sometimes using a hot poker, and by pouring a boiling substance, such as vinegar ...
A slower method of applying single pieces of burning wood was used by Native Americans to torture their captives to death. [5] Molten metal. Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pavlo Pavliuk were supposedly killed this way. The execution method is associated with counterfeits (by pouring down the neck) or traitors (by pouring on the head). [6] Brazen ...