10 Brutal Ways to Die by Torture in the Ancient World

Although the human mind can be considered a brilliant invention of evolution, it is also capable of horrendous imaginations. Throughout the centuries, the pages of history have sung about gruesome tales of torture, human ruthlessness, and the sadistic pleasure both individuals and groups of people derived from seeing others in excruciating agony. Learn—if you dare—ten brutal ways people were executed in the ancient world.


Starting off this macabre list is crucifixion. This was practiced both in the ancient world and as recently as the twentieth century. It was first introduced by the Assyrians and Babylonians, followed by the Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Phoenicians—who initiated it in Rome in the third century BC.


Today's execution methods, and torture have nothing on the ancient world. Read about ten blood-curdling ways people were put to death.

Nov 19, 2020 • By Lara Colrain, BA Archaeology, BA Art History

The Torture of St George by Michiel Coxie, 1588, in Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral, Mechelen, via RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Hague; with Engraving of a Vertical Impalement by Justus Lipsius, 1593; and detail from Nero’s Torches by Henryk Siemiradzki, 1876

 

Although the human mind can be considered a brilliant invention of evolution, it is also capable of horrendous imaginations. Throughout the centuries, the pages of history have sung about gruesome tales of torture, human ruthlessness, and the sadistic pleasure both individuals and groups of people derived from seeing others in excruciating agony. Learn—if you dare—ten brutal ways people were executed in the ancient world.



Starting off this macabre list is crucifixion. This was practiced both in the ancient world and as recently as the twentieth century. It was first introduced by the Assyrians and Babylonians, followed by the Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Phoenicians—who initiated it in Rome in the third century BC.
 

Crucifixion involved being tied or nailed to a wooden beam—or cross. Nails were pierced through the bones below the wrists to bear the weight of the person. It was a “brilliant” placement because no major blood vessels were hit—only the median nerve, which would cause the fingers to seize and the hands to flex down in an excruciating contracture. 

The feet were nailed to the vertical part of the cross, and once the legs weakened, the arms had to hold up the body, resulting in the shoulders being pulled from their sockets. The elbows and wrists would soon follow, with the arms now several inches longer. At this point, the chest had to bear the body’s weight, triggering respiratory problems, and eventual suffocation.


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