In , 26 Christians were crucified in Nagasaki and over the following century, hundreds more were executed in the same way. The punishment began to be used against non-Christians too. In , about people were crucified after the Keian Disturbance, a failed uprising against the Shogun. But the authorities eventually concluded such a public form of execution drew too much attention to serious crimes against the state that it would be better to hush up.
There were also cases where Japanese soldiers crucified people in World War Two. The best documented is that of three Australian prisoners of war working on the Thailand-Burma railway, who were sentenced to death for killing cattle. Today, a punishment referred to as "crucifixion" can still be imposed by courts in Saudi Arabia.
The pole is sometimes, but not always, shaped in the form of a cross. Image source, Thinkstock. Image source, Reuters. The invasion of Palestine by Antiochus Epiphanies c. Josephus graphic and bloody account mentions crucifixion — not clear just what it implies in this context but certainly some kind of hanging. King Antiochus returning out of Egypt 16 for fear of the Romans, made an expedition against the city Jerusalem; and when he was there, in the hundred and forty-third year of the kingdom of the Seleucides, he took the city without fighting, those of his own party opening the gates to him.
And when he had gotten possession of Jerusalem, he slew many of the opposite party; and when he had plundered it of a great deal of money, he returned to Antioch. Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us called Chislev, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-third olympiad, that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value, and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league he had made.
So he left the temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden altar [of incense], and table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of burnt-offering]; and did not abstain from even the veils, which were made of fine linen and scarlet. He also emptied it of its secret treasures, and left nothing at all remaining; and by this means cast the Jews into great lamentation, for he forbade them to offer those daily sacrifices which they used to offer to God, according to the law.
And when he had pillaged the whole city, some of the inhabitants he slew, and some he carried captive, together with their wives and children, so that the multitude of those captives that were taken alive amounted to about ten thousand. He also burnt down the finest buildings; and when he had overthrown the city walls, he built a citadel in the lower part of the city, 17 for the place was high, and overlooked the temple; on which account he fortified it with high walls and towers, and put into it a garrison of Macedonians.
However, in that citadel dwelt the impious and wicked part of the [Jewish] multitude, from whom it proved that the citizens suffered many and sore calamities. He also compelled them to forsake the worship which they paid their own God, and to adore those whom he took to be gods; and made them build temples, and raise idol altars in every city and village, and offer swine upon them every day.
He also commanded them not to circumcise their sons, and threatened to punish any that should be found to have transgressed his injunction. He also appointed overseers, who should compel them to do what he commanded. But the best men, and those of the noblest souls, did not regard him, but did pay a greater respect to the customs of their country than concern as to the punishment which he threatened to the disobedient; on which account they every day underwent great miseries and bitter torments; for they were whipped with rods, and their bodies were torn to pieces, and were crucified, while they were still alive, and breathed.
They also strangled those women and their sons whom they had circumcised, as the king had appointed, hanging their sons about their necks as they were upon the crosses.
And if there were any sacred book of the law found, it was destroyed, and those with whom they were found miserably perished also. Alexander Jannaeus, the Maccabean king B. Now as Alexander fled to the mountains, six thousand of the Jews hereupon came together [from Demetrius] to him out of pity at the change of his fortune; upon which Demetrius was afraid, and retired out of the country; after which the Jews fought against Alexander, and being beaten, were slain in great numbers in the several battles which they had; and when he had shut up the most powerful of them in the city Bethome, he besieged them therein; and when he had taken the city, and gotten the men into his power, he brought them to Jerusalem, and did one of the most barbarous actions in the world to them; for as he was feasting with his concubines, in the sight of all the city, he ordered about eight hundred of them to be crucified; and while they were living, he ordered the throats of their children and wives to be cut before their eyes.
Crucifixion in Roman times was applied mostly to slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians and foreigners--only very rarely to Roman citizens. Death, usually after 6 hours days, was due to multifactorial pathology: after-effects of compulsory scourging and maiming, haemorrhage and dehydration causing hypovolaemic shock and pain, but the most important factor was progressive asphyxia caused by impairment of respiratory movement.
The JWs have this utterly unsupported idea of a stake based entirely on the earlier meaning of the word Stauros. Words grow and expand their meaning. Or have a range of meaning. In this instance there is NO evidence that a stake was used , there is evidence that a cross was used. The so-called presence of a cross in the cities destroyed by Mt.
Vesuvius, are highly questionable. And most certainly in either case was not to be revered. The closer to the springhead, the purer the water. A 20th century revision by a religious sect, versus historical evidence all the way back to the 1st century e. James Tabor also has a good summary of the first century historian Joesphus' references to […].
This subsequently morphed into the Latin cross as we have it today, and the various other cruciform decorations that evolved from that fairly quickly. Fascinating article — thanks! They eventually had to enlist help for him.
The length and weight of a single beam would have been virtually impossible for any human to carry. Do the math. John-I am strongly inclined to believe that Jesus died on a stake based on evidence presented by other writers above. This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing. So whatever other methods of execution were used in the 1st century, the Bible says Jesus died on a stake.
As already mentioned it has become a thing of idolatrous worship. I shudder to think what people would wear around their neck if Jesus had been hanged.
Steven your assertion that it was a simple up right post is not born out from early first century records. Seneca [37AD] stated criminals were crucified with arms outstretched, the Way Jesus said that Peter would be Crucified. According to Josephus at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD the crosses were as thick as a forest, therefore there was no scarcity of wood as this article suggested. Considering the scarcity of large local timber, why use nails at all.
It seems as though nails being continuously driven in and removed would have weakened the vertical timber to such an extent that after a few crucifixions it would no longer sustain the weight of a man. Rope ties would be a better choice. However, in the case of Jesus, nails were used as a means to ridicule his message of his resurrection; a form of mockery.
Whether one believes the Bible to be a supernatural document is quite different than using it as an historical source when it comes to these things. Bring the data together. Ignoring major pieces of it because of a bias against usi9ng ANY biblical data is absurd. Personally, I have no theological interest in the method of crucifixion used in the case of Jesus or any other cases, but it is an interesting question of historical trivia and anatomy. It is fortunate indeed that the Romans abandoned crucifixion when they began to worship someone who had been crucified not that cruel punishments in general were abandoned; witness the abuses of the Inquisition, or being hanged, drawn, AND quartered.
But it is unfortunate for historians that so little contemporary literary or archeological evidence has been found: one heel bone out of all the millions of victims in Roman history! One reason may be that most of the victims were Greco-Roman pagans, who generally practiced cremation, not burial, in the case of the few victims returned to a family for funerary rituals. However, many, perhaps the majority, were deliberately left on the cross or stake to decompose, adding to the indignity AND the warning to passers-by.
Any heel bones or wrist bones with nails would have been scattered over the landscape by scavenging animals in this case. The Biblical accounts are not contemporary, since they are based upon recollections, possibly second- or third-hand recollections, and may have been edited for theological reasons as other parts of the text have been shown to be edited.
As for nails in both hands and feet, it is not inconceivable that the single-stake method could have involved nailing after tying with ropes the hands above the head on opposite sides of the stake, OR EQUALLY, nailing after tying the hands to a crossbar.
Both methods would add increased pain which the Romans obviously wanted , and both would produce four nail wounds. It belongs in the same category as what race Jesus was; as the song says, little children and adults imagine a Jesus the same race as themselves, to increase their feeling of love and connection to their Savior.
Likewise, whatever fits your feeling about how much He suffered for you is appropriate; but watch out if you find yourself imagining more and more gruesome pain, because you may actually be imagining yourself torturing someone ELSE!
Not the Crucifixion but the Resurrection was the demonstration of His, and although hidden by our doubts, our oneness with the Father. Archaeology is a fine science, however, interpretation is often very subjective.
In the Old Testament, the book of Psalms says Psalm Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet—.
With both heels nailed in place, the crucified man would hold on to the beam with no need for other support. This account has been embellished on so many times that facts are buried under the writings of those who wish to promote their ideologies. The word used does NOT mean cross and was just a mistranslation by people who had fortunately never seen a crucifixion. Indeed, try to imagine Roman soldiers wasting all the time needed to create the kind of jointed cross that is usually seen in artworks while they banged up to people along a road.
Incidentally, the fact that the word means a large piece of wood and could be better translated post or staff depending on context makes the comment of Jesus sending out his disciples the last time, when he predicted troubles a lot more sensible.
Take a big stick or staff along. If Roman executioners used crucifixion on a regular basis, it would require reusable tools for the task. Wooden beams with pre drilled holes, iron fortified wooden dowels, ordinary rope, and fixed post holes make up for an efficient method to get the job done. Securing the victim to the beam or cross would be a method to insure the body would be supported until the public execution was completed.
The body would be removed and most of the cross would be used again for the next execution. Nothing suggests the description in the Bible is inaccurate as to the piercing of the hands and feet.
That opinion assumes much more about the Roman method of execution than actual facts support. Jesus was likely attached to a wooden beam by use of both ropes and pegs.
Still, the Bible provides evidence that Jesus died, not on a cross, but on an upright stake. Regardless of the shape of the instrument on which Jesus died, the following facts and Bible verses indicate that we should not use the cross in worship. God rejects worship that uses images or symbols, including the cross.
First-century Christians did not use the cross in worship. Use of the cross in worship has a pagan origin. Recent archaeology indicates nails only 4. There is a practice in the devoutly Catholic nation of the Philippines by which some pious Christians practice penance by having themselves partially crucified in the manner by which Jesus was traditionally crucified. They have found it necessary to support the arms with ropes, using the more modern, smoother, straighter and thinner nails only to provide the additional pain.
Of course, they are cut down before irreparable damage is done. There have been medical tests done on donated cadavers which show that attempting to hold the weight of the body up solely by nails in the palms merely tears the palms open; while doing so with nails just above the wrists, between the arm bones, just barely holds up the body.
From a humanitarian viewpoint alone, we should be thankful that we know so little about the process. While no country with Christianity as its primary heritage would revive the practice, non-Christian as well as Christian countries are either more humane than ancient Rome admittedly a very low bar or would not give up the efficiency of shooting, hanging or beheading for such a slow process, except possibly as a means of interrogation.
Tying to a cross is the most severe form of punishment usually reserved for robbers. Birds will perch and take a bite on the face and body. Lower abdomen will bulge because of the falling internal organs. The condemned goes mentally-ill shouting, laughing, pleading to be killed but death comes after several days to a week.
As to the vertical pole, whatever was available, an existing one from previous execution or a tree. The body examined was probably of a condemned thief.
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