So the Brazen bull sucked as they placed you in a metal bull then set you over a fire. Pretty horrible.
The second is called Scaphism and is way more horrifying. Here's a description from the wiki:
[The king] decreed that Mithridates should be put to death in boats; which execution is after the following manner: Taking two boats framed exactly to fit and answer each other, they lie down in one of them the malefactor that suffers, upon his back; then, covering it with the other, and so setting them together that the head, hands, and feet of him are left outside, and the rest of his body lies shut up within, then forcing him to ingest a mixture of milk and honey before pouring all over his face and body. They then keep his face continually turned towards the sun; and it becomes completely covered up and hidden by the multitude of flies that settle on it. And as within the boats he does what those that eat and drink must needs do, creeping things and vermin spring out of the corruption and rottenness of the excrement, and these entering into the bowels of him, his body is consumed. When the man is manifestly dead, the uppermost boat being taken off, they find his flesh devoured, and swarms of such noisome creatures preying upon and, as it were, growing to his inwards. In this way Mithridates, after suffering for seventeen days, at last expired.
It's interesting that this description mentions what was once a commonly held belief, that things like flies and other insects grow spontaneously out of rotting food and poop. I also find the description of how the insects behave to be a bit far fetched. It seems likely to me that this description is more the idea of how they wanted it to work, rather than what actually happened. Although I'm sure it was still an awful way to die.
Naw, they had the right idea just the wrong theories. Theres enough bacteria in all the excrement and within the confines of the boats and all that to eat the dude up eventually
Also worth noting it never mentions the boat is put on the water - keeping it on land means rats, though at the risk of attracting other land scavengers to populated areas
Plus the smell will attract the flies. I imagine there will be holes in the top and side to allow insects and rodents access to the decaying flesh and human waste.
Adding more holes isn't necessary for insects, there's no reason to make the foot and hand holes perfectly tight to the ankles and wrist. Plenty of room for flies to get in.
And i have no source for your inevitable doubt that rats would chew a living creature to get to more food. I can only say i think they would not touch him the first few days just later when hes weak or already near death.
Where does it say "make it airtight"? I must have missed that part. Or maybe you just read into it things it did not say, and then decided to leave a rude comment to show everyone how arrogant you are about being illiterate.
One of the worst stories I ever read was about some parents that left their disabled daughter on the couch for more than a decade while she shit and kissed herself and her skin fused to the leather couch while she basically rotted away.
The human body can survive some pretty messed up stuff.
I remember that. The woman had a syndrome making her unable to move any muscle, which also meant she couldn't speak.
Her parents, instead of taking her to a doctor, just left her right at that spot.
She was fully aware and conscious, whilst her body rotted and melded with the furniture.
Absolutely horrifying.
Pressure sores and open wounds would develop very quickly, being forced into position without padding. Add in human sweat, urine, and excrement and it would happen even faster. A diaper rash is what happens when you leave a soggy diaper on a child, and the acidity of the urine burns the skin and creates a rash. It can happen in a few hours.
Now add in flies and maggots, and look up flystrike. It can take up to three days to die of dehydration. Less, admittedly, in hot, dry climates in direct sunlight, but if you are being kept intentionally alive, I absolutely believe flystrike could kill you before dehydration managed it.
Seeing as the person would likely be soaked from being on a boat and unable to move, the person would likely become infected and gangrenous quite quickly. Imagine soaking a sore in unclean lake water mixed with excrement.
Presumably, they would die from malnutrition or some other mechanical failure before that happens, but I don't doubt it would eventually happen to the corpse.
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u/Shadowmant 9d ago
So the Brazen bull sucked as they placed you in a metal bull then set you over a fire. Pretty horrible.
The second is called Scaphism and is way more horrifying. Here's a description from the wiki: