2. Scaphism Scaphism is an Ancient Persian method of execution. According to Wikipedia, a naked person would be firmly fastened within a back-to-back pair of narrow rowboats (or in some variations a hollowed out tree trunk), the head, hands, and feet protruding from this improvised container. 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 alternately, simply exposed to the sun somewhere). 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.Plutarch writes that it took Mithridates 17 days to die by this method of execution. Native American Indians also used a similar method of execution where they would tie the victim to a tree, smear him and leave him to the ants. Because he was not previously force-fed, he would generally starve in a few days.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 12:11:34 +0000
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