The Craziest Torture in Human History: Scaphism
Scaphism, also known as 'the boats', or erroneously as kyphonism, is an alleged ancient method of the death penalty from ancient Persia. The word comes from the Greek, literally "anything hollowed out (or emptied)."
It consisted of trapping the victim between two boats, feeding it and covering it with milk and honey, and waiting for it to rot and be devoured by insects and other parasites, thus dying of starvation, renal failure or general collapse of internal organs due to the consequent infections.
Below is a detailed testimony of how the disturbing practice was applied, according to what is reported by Plutarch's writings about the execution of Mithridates:
“Taking two equal boats, the evildoer is placed on one of them on his back; then, covering him with the other, and putting them together so that the head, hands and feet remain outside and the rest of the body lies closed inside, they offer him food and if he refuses to eat it, they force him to do it by pricking his eyes; then, after he has eaten, they douse him with a mixture of milk and honey, pouring it not only in his mouth, but all over his face. So they keep their face continuously turned towards the sun, and it is completely covered and hidden by the multitude of flies that land on it. And since in the boats he does what those who eat and drink must do, crawling animals and parasites spring up from the corruption and rot of the excrement, and these enter his bowels and his body is consumed. When the man is evidently dead, as the uppermost boat is being taken away, they find his flesh devoured and swarms of such noxious creatures preying upon and, as it were, growing within him. In this way Mithridates, after suffering for seventeen days, finally died."
Shocking.
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