NationStates Jolt Archive

Let's say civilization takes a big step backwards (global warming, world war, economic collapse).

Of course, your local government, such as it is, brings the death penalty back in a really big and showy way.

Which form of ancient execution would you LEAST prefer (on yourself or others)?

Being boiled or molten lead down the throat.

Drawing and quartering, I think.
Impaling is another I abhor.
Hm, being broken on the wheel or on the rack wasn't so good either....
Pressing, no....



Guillotine was ok. At least it was over relatively quickly and painlessly.

I'm not too fond of the Bronze Bull.

In case of reverse psychology, I vote old age.

Their should be an option for "all of the above."

Their should be an option for "all of the above."

I'm limited to 10 options, and I should have also put in "name that method".

Which one does US policy most support? Oh wait, wrong thread...

I'm not too fond of the Bronze Bull.

It is quite nice mixed with vodka. Though energy drinks generally..

What ancient form of execution do you LEAST prefer?
The one where I die.

I never knew being rolled inside a spiked barrel was an execution method. I voted insects because I am afraid of insects.

It is quite nice mixed with vodka. Though energy drinks generally..

Those things will kill you! :eek:

Out of the poll options, I'm going to go with 'flayed alive.' I would think 'slowly lowered into a cauldron of boiling oil' would be worse than that, or molten gold poured down the throat, like the Incas did to somebody(I think it was them anyways)

like the Incas did to somebody(I think it was them anyways)

It was a Chilean tribe, forget the name. It's something like Avajaro though.

Out of the poll options, I'm going to go with 'flayed alive.' I would think 'slowly lowered into a cauldron of boiling oil' would be worse than that, or molten gold poured down the throat, like the Incas did to somebody(I think it was them anyways)

I thought it was the Spanish doing it to the natives. Though maybe they both did for all I know.

I despise the very thought of being eaten alive by insects. Although buried alive wouldn't be too pleasent either...

Most of them are pretty bad. Scaphism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaphism) is worst.

Scaphism, also known as the boats, was an ancient Persian method of execution designed to inflict torturous death. The name comes from the Greek word skaphe, meaning "scooped (or hollowed) out".

The naked person was firmly fastened within a back-to-back pair of narrow rowing boats (or a hollowed-out tree trunk), with the head, hands, and feet protruding. The condemned was forced to ingest milk and honey to the point of developing severe diarrhea, and more honey would be rubbed on his body so as to attract insects to the exposed appendages. They would then be left to float on a stagnant pond or be exposed to the sun. The defenseless individual's feces accumulated within the container, attracting more insects, which would eat and breed within his or her exposed and increasingly gangrenous flesh. Death, when it eventually occurred, was probably due to a combination of dehydration, starvation and septic shock. Delirium would typically set in after a few days.

In other recorded versions, the insects did not eat the person; biting and stinging insects such as wasps, which were attracted by honey on the body, acted as the torture.

Death by scaphism was painful, humiliating, and protracted. Plutarch writes in his biography of Artaxerxes that Mithridates, sentenced to die in this manner for killing Cyrus the Younger, survived 17 days before dying.

I was going to bold the worst parts... and realized the whole bloody thing was awful.

Thinking about burning alive got the best/worst response for me on that list :( and that's practicaly a natural phenomena.

Damn, scaphism sounds quite awful. I suppose we could just ask Maichan.

Being buried alive seems to be, while not the most physically torturous, the most horrifying and psychologically torturous.

Breaking wheel.

I despise the very thought of being eaten alive by insects. Although buried alive wouldn't be too pleasent either...

Strange how the Inquisition never used spiders, now if I had been Torquemada....

I think there was an ancient babylonian execution method where they covered your anus and genitals with some solid material (wood, I think), and then feeded you to the point where you had to defecate but you couldn't, since there was no way out for the feces, so your intenstines went all...explodey.

In other words, you were disembowled by your own shit. Ouch.

I think there was an ancient babylonian execution method where they covered your anus and genitals with some solid material (wood, I think), and then feeded you to the point where you had to defecate but you couldn't, since there was no way out for the feces, so your intenstines went all...explodey.

In other words, you were disembowled by your own shit. Ouch.

Gotta hand it to the Babylonians. They really did think things through.

Wouldn't it just back up until it started coming out your mouth, though? (not a doctor)

I think there was an ancient babylonian execution method where they covered your anus and genitals with some solid material (wood, I think), and then feeded you to the point where you had to defecate but you couldn't, since there was no way out for the feces, so your intenstines went all...explodey.

In other words, you were disembowled by your own shit. Ouch.

What the hell :( But don't some old aged pets die that way, because they can't defecate/urinate anymore?

The one where I die.

Painfully and slowly.

Let's say civilization takes a big step backwards (global warming, world war, economic collapse).

Of course, your local government, such as it is, brings the death penalty back in a really big and showy way.

Which form of ancient execution would you LEAST prefer (on yourself or others)?

This is fairly subjective. I personally don't find 'barbaric' executions to be entirely out of the question.

I think things like public floggings should be acceptable forms of punishment, along with executions along the order of public hangings.

All of this "well, ok, we'll kill them, but we'll be nice about it" stuff is too pansy for me to endorse. Lethal injection? Please.

Wouldn't it just back up until it started coming out your mouth, though? (not a doctor)

I'm not a doctor either, but I read this one up on Wiki years ago and remember it as being more or less like that. I don't remember which article it was exactly though. Also could be that the Persians or Assyrians were the ones who used it.
I guess anybody can imagine the pressure of not being able to take a crap or piss when you really need to, so no matter what the exact effects of blocking the anus are, they must be really painful horrifying.

Oh right... I think that the Judas Cradle would be a terrible way to go, and I would want that brought back less than anything I think.

Generally, I'd guess that crucifixion and impalement are the longest - hence, I guess (and I want to be able ONLY to guess!) the most horrible.
Though I have a particular hate for asphixia and for madness, hence buried alive isn't quite a choice I'd like to take.

Hmm... being drawn and quartered. Although it was usually done post-hanging.

I guess being flayed (skinned) alive. I don't quite understand the idea of torturous deaths. When you want someone dead, why go through all that unneeded effort to inflict pain? And if you want suffering, why kill the bastard? All the killing does is end the torture.

I guess being flayed (skinned) alive. I don't quite understand the idea of torturous deaths. When you want someone dead, why go through all that unneeded effort to inflict pain? And if you want suffering, why kill the bastard? All the killing does is end the torture.

Deterrence?

Eaten alive by insects sounds the worst. It's a slow death, plus I'm not a big fan of creepy crawlies.

Out of the poll options, I'm going to go with 'flayed alive.' I would think 'slowly lowered into a cauldron of boiling oil' would be worse than that, or molten gold poured down the throat, like the Incas did to somebody(I think it was them anyways)

It was a Chilean tribe, forget the name. It's something like Avajaro though.

I thought it was the Spanish doing it to the natives. Though maybe they both did for all I know.

Apparently the Spanish did that to Montezuma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II#Death) and the Parthians did it Crassus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassus).

golly, Beaver, you left out some of the most grueling, tortuous methods... like the Judas Cradle and the water torture... mom and dad are going to be mad at you! wrong is wrong, even when everyone says it's right (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-4pLxMJBlo&feature=related)

I guess being flayed (skinned) alive. I don't quite understand the idea of torturous deaths. When you want someone dead, why go through all that unneeded effort to inflict pain? And if you want suffering, why kill the bastard? All the killing does is end the torture.

The ending of life, and finality of death is seen as the ultimate punishment. I'd imagine, though, that as we don't actually know what happens after death, we might as well make sure some punishment happens before the death.

Also, under extreme torture, life is hard to maintain. Another factor, which works into deterrance is, take public hangings, or crucifixion for example, it's nice to have a reminder that the law is serious.

I'd probably opt for the eaten by insects cause that would take a long time, and they'd go for your soft squishy bits (eg eyes) first.
Though being stoned would be lousy, as it would also take quite a while to die from. Best hope if for a well-aimed stone knocking you out cold.
Wickerman style death would be awful. Not so much the being burned to death bit, but the beign forced to put up with the dreadful singing and morris-dancing before hand.

I'd probably opt for the eaten by insects cause that would take a long time, and they'd go for your soft squishy bits (eg eyes) first.
Though being stoned would be lousy, as it would also take quite a while to die from. Best hope if for a well-aimed stone knocking you out cold.
Wickerman style death would be awful. Not so much the being burned to death bit, but the beign forced to put up with the dreadful singing and morris-dancing before hand.

Actually, when done improperly, the wickerman is a comparatively painless way to die; if it's not made correctly, it smokes something fierce, and you can get totally knocked out before the flames ever reach you. The dreadful singing just gives you more motivation to be unconscious...

water wheel: Asphyxiation, long and painful, muscle fatigue and drowning

Im thinkin Eaten by Insects would be the worst, cause it would last the longest and have the psychological factor of watching bugs harvest your flesh, *nod*...

Actually, when done improperly, the wickerman is a comparatively painless way to die; if it's not made correctly, it smokes something fierce, and you can get totally knocked out before the flames ever reach you.
So you can be all like: "I didn't even FEEL that, suckers!" and giggle at how your executioners will probably have a more painful disease-associated death than you.

The ending of life, and finality of death is seen as the ultimate punishment. I'd imagine, though, that as we don't actually know what happens after death, we might as well make sure some punishment happens before the death.

Also, under extreme torture, life is hard to maintain. Another factor, which works into deterrance is, take public hangings, or crucifixion for example, it's nice to have a reminder that the law is serious.

"As proven by the fact that there is correlation between a country's use of the death sentence and the rates of those crimes punished with death", I guess.

Too bad that there isn't such correlation. Actually, you get abolitionist countries, like Italy or Germany, with LOWER crime rates than let's say the USA or China... and you get abolitionist countries, like Venezuela or Colombia, with HIGHER crime rates than let's say Libya or Mongolia.

Next!

Voted for eaten by bugs, just cause that would really suck.

The Assyrians had a method of torture/execution...they would tie up a prisoner in a spread-eagle position, and proceed to cut the victim in half from the groin up...an inch per day...cauterizing the wound with heated copper. The victim would usually survive until either rupture of the intestines caused an infection, or failing that, when the diaphragm was cut, impairing breathing functions.

Not a fun way to go.

Eaten by insects, not just because it's slow and painful but also because I have a real phobia of insect swarms (because being eaten by them would be a slow and painful death, go figure).

Flayed alive though has to come a close second though.

Marriage, that's the ancient form of excecution I LEAST prefer.

I would absolutely hate to be snogged to death by a pile of attractive dancers.

So if I'm ever captured, be sure to let them know that that's how to torture me.

Bronze Bull. Nasty stuff.

Molten lead, or silver, down the throat, doesn't seem too pleasant either.

"As proven by the fact that there is correlation between a country's use of the death sentence and the rates of those crimes punished with death", I guess.

Too bad that there isn't such correlation. Actually, you get abolitionist countries, like Italy or Germany, with LOWER crime rates than let's say the USA or China... and you get abolitionist countries, like Venezuela or Colombia, with HIGHER crime rates than let's say Libya or Mongolia.

Next!

I wasn't advocating use of the death penalty in that post. Perhaps if you look at the socio-historical context of the post you might grasp my meaning.

I didn't say "look at the US use of execution, and how good it is" I said somerthing more comparable to "Yeah, so I was walking into a Roman city and saw a half-dozen poor jerks slowly suffocate to death painfully... maybe I don't want to break the law". Whats more is that deterrence is a motivation to use the death penalty, whether or not it is necessarily effective.

What's more is that punishment for criminal behavior should be done as, well, exactly that, punishment for criminal behavior. Rehabilitation/deterrence should only be afterthoughts. So the murderers get hanged, thats what they had coming, and if it stops the next guy, so much the better... saves the gov't on the cost of rope.

Eaten by insects, not just because it's slow and painful but also because I have a real phobia of insect swarms (because being eaten by them would be a slow and painful death, go figure).

Pretty much this. Bugs aren't my thing.

Though I feel that some kind of space-inhibiting/suffocation execution would be pretty bad too... though in a suffocation event, I would probably try to inhale as much water as quickly as I could, in a situation where death is extremely imminent, why prolong horrible torture for a few minutes?

Apparently the Spanish did that to Montezuma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II#Death) and the Parthians did it Crassus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassus).

I consider that version of Moctezuma II's death to be apocryphal and unlikely.

It requires us to believe that Cortes, while essentially under siege from rioting Aztecs, found the means to both melt adequate amounts of gold, and personally pour it down Moctezuma's throat (using....?).

I think it entirely likely that Cortes and/or cohorts panicked and killed Moctezuma, but the gold story just doesn't strike me as likely.

Though I concede that it probably doesn't take that much molten gold to kill someone who's forced to swallow it, Cortes still had to have a source of adequate heat, and something to melt the gold in and carry it from the heat source to Moctezuma in a molten state, while he was under attack.

And the version of Crassus' death that I'm familiar with has him killed during or immediately after the catastrophic Roman defeat at Carrhae. The story stating that the Parthians poured molten gold down his throat as punishment for his greed doesn't appear until Dio Cassius's history in the late 2nd or early 3rd century, and is probably designed to emphasise the virtues of traditional Roman frugality over excessive wealth.


Edit:
And Bottle may want to remember the way Attila the Hun went.... burst blood vessel while consummating his latest marriage. Great way for him to go - not so sure it's than fantastic an experience for the woman involved, though.

I would absolutely hate to be snogged to death by a pile of attractive dancers.

So if I'm ever captured, be sure to let them know that that's how to torture me.

Ooh... thats almost crossing a line of harshness.

I think that the US should implement such a punishment. It might increase the crime rates a bit... but think of how many fewer criminals will run from the cops.

Apparently the Spanish did that to Montezuma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II#Death) and the Parthians did it Crassus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassus).

Monctezuma II, NM, Monctezuma II.

Almost forgot - wedging and sanding...

crucifiction, i guess. everyone in town watching you die, that would suck. some people cry about it, just knowing it happened. a niece of someone i know heard about it from her aunt "they did that to Jesus?" and the girl was crying. it also took a few days. slow painful death by suffacation, who would like that? i suppose i wouldn't want to wish it out of history, but leave it there, as far as doing it goes. let people know it happened, though

Bored to death by filthy peasants. Perhaps the most horrible form of death imaginable: first, they gather together a bunch of smelly, boring, socially-inferior people, and then they force you to sit there and listen to their stupid stories about this year's wheat harvest, and last year's wheat harvest, and the wheat harvest that their grandfather died during.

Monctezuma II, NM, Monctezuma II.

Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, Nanatsu, Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin.

Your classical Nahuatl must be slipping.

But arguably calling him Montezuma in English is no worse than a Spaniard calling Prince Charles 'Carlos', or Queen Elizabeth 'Isabella'. ;)

crucifiction, i guess. everyone in town watching you die, that would suck. some people cry about it, just knowing it happened. a niece of someone i know heard about it from her aunt "they did that to Jesus?" and the girl was crying. it also took a few days. slow painful death by suffacation, who would like that? i suppose i wouldn't want to wish it out of history, but leave it there, as far as doing it goes. let people know it happened, though

Oh it gets worse... Jesus having been nailed up was not the most common method. Usually they would simply tie the condemned up onto the cross in such a way that if they relaxes their muscles they'd be unable to breathe, so they'd have to sort of pull themselves up. Eventually when exhaustion sets in, they can't do it anymore and die. The downside: That would take DAYS... :eek:

I think being fed to something was probably high up there. All of these are horrible ways to go out, but getting eaten alive is just some another level of twistedness.

Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, Nanatsu, Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin.

Your classical Nahuatl must be slipping.

But arguably calling him Montezuma in English is no worse than a Spaniard calling Prince Charles 'Carlos', or Queen Elizabeth 'Isabella'. ;)

My Nahuatl has slipped indeed.:tongue: I'm going by the name Mexicans call Monctezuma II. The c is there, and I was corrected on that count while in Mexico on more than one occasion.

I always thought the one where they break your limbs and thread them through the spokes of a wagon w heel, then elevate that up on a pole was particularly insidious. Snacktime for crows!

(Note: In Monty Python and the Holy Grail you can actually see one of these devices in the background early in the film.)

I always thought the one where they break your limbs and thread them through the spokes of a wagon w heel, then elevate that up on a pole was particularly insidious. Snacktime for crows!

(Note: In Monty Python and the Holy Grail you can actually see one of these devices in the background early in the film.)

Also in the background of Breugel's The Triumph of Death
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Thetriumphofdeath.jpg

Oh it gets worse... Jesus having been nailed up was not the most common method. Usually they would simply tie the condemned up onto the cross in such a way that if they relaxes their muscles they'd be unable to breathe, so they'd have to sort of pull themselves up. Eventually when exhaustion sets in, they can't do it anymore and die. The downside: That would take DAYS... :eek:
i hope i didn't come off as a little preachy, but i like to talk about that sort of thing online, cause i don't have to be called a religious freak to my face.
by the way what did or would you vote for in the poll?

i hope i didn't come off as a little preachy, but i like to talk about that sort of thing online, cause i don't have to be called a religious freak to my face.
by the way what did or would you vote for in the poll?

I don't think you came off as preachy, fear not.

I voted for being buried alive. The idea of spending my last moments screaming myself into insanity in the dark while clawing at the box lid until my fingernails fall off seems particularly unsettling to me...

Burried alive or a cave in has got to be the worst. You have all that time to think about your own death, yikes. I figure I can take out a whole bunch of insects. Some of them are coming with me.

buried alive.
Pit is dug, person put in, pit is filled in. no entertainment factor whatsoever, its just plain boring.

hmmm... all of the choices are nasty. tho I would probably choose eaten by insects as the worse. due to the idea that it's the one where you are alive the longest.

but if we are including methods not on the list... I have to go with one I saw in a wax meuseam.

basically a cage is strapped to the person's abdomin and rats are put inside. then hot coals are placed on top of the cage. the rats then burrow down to exscape the heat.

buried alive.
Pit is dug, person put in, pit is filled in. no entertainment factor whatsoever, its just plain boring.

When I voted buried alive I assumed there was some sort of coffin or box involved. If it's just a matter of being tossed in a pit then buried I'd probably WAHT that one, because it would appear to the the quickest.

And the version of Crassus' death that I'm familiar with has him killed during or immediately after the catastrophic Roman defeat at Carrhae. The story stating that the Parthians poured molten gold down his throat as punishment for his greed doesn't appear until Dio Cassius's history in the late 2nd or early 3rd century, and is probably designed to emphasise the virtues of traditional Roman frugality over excessive wealth.


Yup. However, I seem to recall King Mithridates VI of Pontus is said to have done the 'molten gold down the throat' routine on an unfortunate Roman statesman. That would have been before Crassus' time, but it's possible that Dio Cassius mixed the two stories up.

Yup. However, I seem to recall King Mithridates VI of Pontus is said to have done the 'molten gold down the throat' routine on an unfortunate Roman statesman. That would have been before Crassus' time, but it's possible that Dio Cassius mixed the two stories up.

I read somewhere that the followers of Mithras, in ancient Babylon, used to pick some unfortunate man and apply liquid gold to his body, the gold having poison, so as to have, every year or so, the statue of the living Mithras, walk in procession.

I think the insects one. That seems like it would take forever.

I read somewhere that the followers of Mithras, in ancient Babylon, used to pick some unfortunate man and apply liquid gold to his body, the gold having poison, so as to have, every year or so, the statue of the living Mithras, walk in procession.

Hmm... sounds a bit mythical. Gold paint, maybe. But I should think a coating of that would kill you anyway, without the poison. Still, I don't know enough (about Mithraism or medical science) to rule it out. Any idea where you might have read it, and whether it seemed a reliable source?

Hmm... sounds a bit mythical. Gold paint, maybe. But I should think a coating of that would kill you anyway, without the poison. Still, I don't know enough (about Mithraism or medical science) to rule it out. Any idea where you might have read it, and whether it seemed a reliable source?

I think it was some sort of apocryphal text. As for reliable source, no. I was a bit confused when I read the procedure.

I think it was some sort of apocryphal text. As for reliable source, no. I was a bit confused when I read the procedure.

Ah well. Can't find anything on the intertubewebs which refers to it, so for now I reckon I'll file it under 'Dubious'.

Monctezuma II, NM, Monctezuma II.

No, I refuse.

Insects or crucifixion.

No, I refuse.

You refuse? I'll eat you if you refuse.

You refuse? I'll eat you if you refuse.

:eek:

.......

kinky.

buried alive.
Pit is dug, person put in, pit is filled in. no entertainment factor whatsoever, its just plain boring.

That's why you bury everything but the head, and then just leave them. Wild animals and/or ants are optional.

You refuse? I'll eat you if you refuse.

Being eaten by people while you were atill alive would be pretty terrible too.

Any one of the many roasting tortures would be a level of pain I can't even imagine

:eek:

.......

kinky.

Nope, it's terrifying it's what it is. *nod*

Being eaten by people while you were atill alive would be pretty terrible too.

I have it on good authority that it's been done. Apparently it's a method of execution that terrorist groups in Uganda have used.

...I considered posting some more detail on the method, but... nah. Treasure your ignorance, dear NSGers.

So you can be all like: "I didn't even FEEL that, suckers!" and giggle at how your executioners will probably have a more painful disease-associated death than you.

yep. what's the old saying - dying well is the best revenge... no wait, that isn't quite it... :p