Public Executions: From Ancient Rome to the Present Day Read Free Page B

favourites, however, he could be excused and the emperor would then throw money into the crowds of spectators to assuage them.
    If one of the combatants lost his nerve and refused to fight on, say, his first appearance in the arena, the crowd would hiss and cry,
'Hoc habet'
(He's had it). At a nod from Caligula, his opponent would step aside and an Armenian dwarf in gold costume would enter the arena. Armed with a vast array of weapons, he would kill the disgraced gladiator in the most painful way possible. The dwarf's lethal skill was so awesome that the crowd fell silent as the victim's screams could be heard echoing around not just the arena but the surrounding hills. Within minutes, he would be chopped into pieces and the dwarf would desecrate his remains.
    After each bout, the bald, black-clad 'carrion man' came into the arena carrying a red-hot poker and a silver hammer. He would apply the poker to the genitals of the fallen. If there was no reaction, he assumed they were dead and struck them on the head with the hammer to release their souls. Anyone who was still alive but too injured to continue was dragged down to the 'finishing-off room' under the stadium where a professional butcher would despatch him with a few strokes of his meat cleaver.
    Under Caligula, people were condemned to death in the arena without their case even being heard. The aged and infirm were matched against tired beasts. A famous writer was burnt alive for writing a line that contained a
double entendre.
The manager of the gladiators was chained up and beaten for days for some unspecified offence and was only killed when Caligula could no longer stand the stench of the decomposing brain.
    Parents were forced to watch the execution of their children. One man was brought on a litter when he pleaded that he was too ill to attend. Another was invited to dine with Caligula shortly after his son was executed for being too well-dressed and coiffed. The grieving man was asked to dinner once again on the day of the funeral and attended because he feared for the life of his other son. Caligula was also bald so anyone with a good head of hair risked, at the very least, having it shaved off.
    Ptolemy was condemned to the arena for wearing a purple cloak that was much admired. Aesius Proculus, a particularly tall and handsome man, was dragged from his seat in the amphitheatre and forced to take on two gladiators. When he beat both opponents, Caligula ordered his death after displaying him to the ladies, bound and clad in rags.
    Men of rank were branded on the face, shut up in cages like animals, or sawn in half. When the actor Apelles was asked the question: 'Who is greater, Jupiter, the king of the gods, or Caligula?', the madman had him cut to pieces with a whip because he hesitated before answering. As Apelles pleaded for mercy under torture, the emperor praised his voice and the melodious quality of his groans.
    Caligula instructed his executioners to take their time and 'strike a man so that he feels he is dying'. He ordered one senator to be slit open and his eyes and internal organs removed with red-hot pincers (in that order) to prolong his agony. The man was then sawn in half and torn to pieces. Caligula's lust for cruelty, however, was not satisfied until he saw the man's limbs, bowels, and other body parts dragged through the street and piled up before him. He was so numb to the sight of pain and blood that he often ordered torture or decapitation as entertainment while he ate.

The Cruelties of Domitian
    The Emperor Domitian (81–96) was particularly tough on Christians and, one way or another, a slow, painful, humiliating, and very public death was in store for them. They were hacked to pieces, burned to death, or perforated with a stake. Spikes, pincers, and iron claws would be used to tear the flesh from their bones and honey would be rubbed on their skin so insects would sting them to death.
    The faithful would also be strung up by one leg,