by Darcia Helle
Death By Crucifixion in the Roman World
According to the Greek historian Herodotus (484 BC – 425 B.C.), crucifixion seems to have originated with the ancient Persians and dates back to at least 700 B.C. The Romans soon adopted and perfected this ancient death penalty.
In the Roman Empire, the method used to carry out a death sentence was dictated by class. The upper class patricians and equestrians were allowed dignity in death. They were given poison, which they used in private. In complete contrast, the slaves were executed publicly using a variety of brutal methods.
In most circumstances, Roman law forbade crucifixion as a punishment for its average citizens. This punishment was reserved for their enemies, rebellious foreigners, citizens who committed treason, and, of course, slaves. In fact, slaves were crucified so frequently that crucifixion became known as the servile supplicium or slaves’ punishment.
The Roman View On Crucifixion
The Romans did not view crucifixion as a “normal” death sentence. Crucifixion was considered humiliating, disgraceful, and obscene. This is why crucifixion was reserved for the lowest class of people and the most despicable crimes. Even under these circumstances, some Romans considered crucifixion uncivilized.
In the first century B.C., Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero called crucifixion “the most cruel and disgusting penalty”.
Spartacus and the Slave Revolt
Spartacus is perhaps the most famous of all Roman slaves. Information is sparse and sources differ on some points, but all agree that Spartacus was a Thracian (an Indo-European tribe from Thrace) born in 109 BC. Plutarch, a Greek historian from the early AD period, described Spartacus as “a Thracian of Nomadic Stock”. He received training in the Roman army, though it’s unclear whether this was as an auxiliary from the Roman legions or as a captive taken by the legions. Either way, he went from soldier to slave in 73 BC, when he was sold to a Roman citizen, Lentulus Batiatus.
Batiatus was an overseer and trainer at a school for gladiator slaves 20 miles from Mt. Vesuvius. According to some fictionalized versions of Spartacus’s life, upon being trained for the gladiator ring, Spartacus killed his good friend in a “kill or be killed” battle for the entertainment of the Roman patrician class. Whether or not this is true, there is no doubt that not long after being imprisoned in the gladiator school, Spartacus organized an escape that turned into a riot now known as the Slave Revolt or the 
Slave Rebellion. Of the 200 gladiators living at the school, only about 70 made it out to the streets. The escaped slaves seized wagons and weaponry, using their gladiator skills to defeat the small army sent to capture them.
Spartacus then led his men on to Mt. Vesuvius, picking up rural slaves along the way. The slaves took a Roman camp, thwarting the Romans’ attempt to stop them. In total, around 70,000 slaves joined Spartacus and his men as they headed into the Alps.
Historians believe Spartacus intended on a quick march of protest before 
allowing his men to disband and return to their pre-slave homes. Unfortunately, their revolt had earned them too much attention from the Roman Senate, which tasked Marcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome, with ending the rebellion. Crassus organized 10 legions to block Spartacus and his slaves. In the end, approximately 12,000 slaves were killed in battle. Another 6,000 managed to escape, only to be captured and crucified along the Appian Way, the royal road leading from Capua to Rome.
While Roman leaders and early historians claim Spartacus died in battle, they also agree that his body was never actually found or identified.
The Cross
The earliest crucifixion victims are believed to have been nailed or tied to trees. A variety of methods followed. The Romans seem to have standardized the procedure with the use of the cross.
Several cross varieties were used for crucifixions. The tau, or Saint Anthony’s cross, was made from a horizontal beam fixed at the very top of the vertical piece, forming a T. The second type of a traditional cross was the t-shape, called the Latin cross, in which the horizontal beam was fixed about one-quarter of the way from the top of the vertical piece. Saint Andrew’s cross consisted of two diagonal beams forming an X. The last type, consisting simply of a vertical wooden stake, was also used in some instances.
In AD 70, during the time that Roman General and later Emperor Titus was beating down the Jewish revolt and beginning the siege of Jerusalem, he was crucifying more than 500 Jews each day.
Death’s Sweet Release
Death did not usually come quickly. A healthy person could survive as long as two days on the cross. The victim, always naked, would be taunted and ridiculed by the citizens. Insects would infest the victim’s eyes, mouth, and open wounds. Death was slow, demoralizing, and agonizing.
Proper burials for crucifixion victims were not allowed during the Roman period. The victim would be left on the cross as food for birds of prey and any wild animals that could reach high enough to scavenge from the cross. At times, the bodies of the deceased would be removed from their crosses and simply tossed away as trash.
Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor, banned crucifixion in 345 AD.
Crucifixion Today
Most of us in today’s world do not live in fear of crucifixion. You would be forgiven for believing that this gruesome form of torture and execution is no longer practiced. However, you would be wrong.
Crucifixion has been used at various times in many countries from the time of its conception.
Japan adopted the practice during the Age of Civil Wars (1138-1560), which is particularly astounding since they had gone the previous 350 years with no capital punishment at all. Crucifixion is believed to have been introduced to the Japanese along with Christianity. The Japanese also crucified its prisoners during World War II.
Today, both Iran and Sudan continue to use crucifixion as a means of execution.
Please click to below to view Darcia’s Helle’s previous posts:
To Burn or Not to Burn? Auto-Da-Fé Is Not Good for Women or Children!
The Disgraceful Entrapment of Jesse Snodgrass: Keep the Narcs Out of Our Schools
Why Should I Believe You? The History of the Polygraph
“Don’t Behead Me, Dude!”: The Story of Beheading and the Invention of the Guillotine
Aileen Wuornos, America’s First High-Profile Female Serial Killer, Never Had a Chance
The Terror of ISO: A Descent into Madness
Al Capone Could Not Bribe the Rock: Alcatraz, Fortress of Doom
Cyberspace, Darknet, Murder-for-Hire and the Invisible Black Machine
Darcia Helle lives in a fictional world with a husband who is sometimes real. Their house is ruled by spoiled dogs and cats and the occasional dust bunny.
Suspense, random blood splatter and mismatched socks consume Darcia’s days. She writes because the characters trespassing through her mind leave her no alternative. Only then are the voices free to haunt someone else’s mind.
Join Darcia in her fictional world: www.QuietFuryBooks.com
The characters await you.